Ragnarok: Sword of Legends
by IcemanX
Summary: A mysterious sword appears while the girls play in the park. The girls are thrown into another world, a world in turmoil, in which they must fight to survive... Now updating gain! Last Chapter: 23.
1. Prologue: Legends

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Azumanga Daioh, or any of the ideas that I mentioned I took in the Author's notes (I'd say it here, but I don't wanna ruin it)

**A few opening words:** I was going to put this up last night, but the internet crapped out on me. Anyway, this is just the prologue. Just a little preview to kinda let you know what I have in mind…

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_There is an ancient legend in the land of Archaea, one that tells of a magical sword, the bane of all evil. This sword goes by the name of Ragnarok, and only appears in our world in times of great need. When it appears, it is to be wielded by the Arbiter, or Chosen One, who will then go on to defeat the evil, but not without great sacrifice. The life of the Arbiter is said to be filled with peril, that only they can survive. Because of this it is also a life of solitude. There are many who wish to be chosen by the great sword, but those who were soon regretted it. No one knows how the sword chooses its __owner;__ some even say that it is the will of the Gods. Once the evil is defeated, and the Arbiter subsequently dead__, Ragnarok disappears, to return again when needed. _

_It has been more than 300 years since Ragnarok last blessed our land, 300 years of peace. But now, an evil tyrant has taken the throne, and is destroying everything we hold dear. Some have taken up sword to fight him, but they will not last long, without the help of the Arbiter…_

_-----_

It was at this time that seven girls were enjoying themselves in the park not far from their school. Also in the park were two of their teachers, on their way home from a night of drinking. Neither party knew of the other, yet both stopped to watch the sun set in the distance. All of a sudden, there was a great flash of light, so bright that all of them were forced to cover their eyes. No matter where they looked, the light was there. It seemed to have no visible source. Then, all at once it vanished, as quickly as it had appeared, leave behind one thing. A sword, sticking into the ground in a clearing not far from either group. A sword of immaculate design, with a soft aura of light surrounding it…

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**Author's notes: **Hey, I never said it'd be long! Anyway, this one probably won't be updated much till I finish off the others, which aren't even half done yet. Well the one, Behind the Wheel, probably is, but it may get longer depending on how it goes…

Anyway, I'll be gone for the weekend, so I won't be updating my other two fics like I had planned. Sorry to those reading Behind the Wheel, I just couldn't finish off the chapter to my liking, so you'll have to wait another few days!

Oh, and to those who ask, I did get the Arbiter idea from Halo 2. I had an idea similar, but couldn't think of a name, and just said "The hell with it…"

Also, the title is subject to change. I don't like it very much at the moment.

Till next time…


	2. Chapter 1: Magic?

**A few opening words: **This isn't meant to be long. Just view this chapter as a secondary prologue, or an introduction of sorts. Or maybe a teaser. Anyway, just so you know, the first few chapters are meant to be short like this. The next one will probably be longer, but if it isn't it'll be the last short one.

Enjoy…

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Sakaki brought her arm down from shielding her eyes, grateful that the light had disappeared. Looking around, she saw her friends do the same, albeit cautiously, though not all of them were standing. Osaka had tripped over a tree root, and Tomo had tripped over her. They were being helped up by Kagura. Looking up ahead, Sakaki saw a faint glow emanating from the trees at the side of the path. She pointed it out to the others.

"There's something up ahead." Kagura stepped up beside her.

"Whatever it is, it wasn't here before." She broke into a run, headed for the trees where the glow was, calling back as she went. "Come on! Let's go check it out!"

Sakaki ran after Kagura, the rest of the girls struggling to keep up. If anyone spoke, it was too quiet for Sakaki to hear. Kagura arrived at the edge of the trees, and bolted in without slowing down. Sakaki followed, but slowed a bit, now wanting to run into a tree or any low branches. Since she was taller than Kagura, she had more to worry about. Up ahead, she saw Kagura arrive at the edge of a clearing, and abruptly stop. The glow was brighter now, almost like a streetlamp, and it was coming from the center of the clearing. Sakaki slowed, and stood beside Kagura. She followed her gaze into the clearing, and gasped.

"It's a sword…" Sakaki was surprised when she stepped into the clearing, her legs moving of their own will. She looked back at Kagura who hadn't moved. The others had caught up by now two, and were also standing at the edge of the clearing.

"Why aren't you guys coming?" Kagura was the first to speak.

"I… can't. I can't get my legs to work. It's like there's some… barrier or something stopping me, but I can't feel it." She waved her hand in front of her for effect. "See? It's there, but it isn't…" The others nodded an agreement, before Kaorin pointed out the obvious.

"Sakaki-san, why are you able to enter the clearing?"

"Um… I don't know. I guess it's the opposite for me. My legs are moving of their own will." Now that Sakaki thought about it, she had begun to notice an odd _presence_ in her mind. It was what seemed to will her legs into moving, silently nudging her towards the sword. _What… is this? The sword… could it __be magic?_ An odd feeling in her mind, emanating from the _presence_, somehow told her the answer was yes.

Sakaki was now standing directly in front of the sword. She looked it up and down. It appeared to be roughly three and a half feet long with a grip and hilt of about a foot long. It reminded her of the long two handed swords that were used in the Medieval era, the Claymore. The only difference was that this one's design was very elaborate. The blade was about two and a half inches where it met the hilt, and tapered down to an inch and a half where it met the ground. She suspected that the part that was buried tapered off to a point at a steeper angle. Near the hilt, there were a bunch of odd looking symbols or runes, similar to the Kanji, yet also different. Along the whole length of the blade an intricate design of lines weaved its way along, in a way that made symbols stand out more. Blade itself was made of some metal; it was silver and had a sort of bluish tint to it, reminding Sakaki of what Platinum looked like.

The hilt was the most elaborate part of the sword. It seemed to be made of metal too, but was painted a dark mahogany color. It angled slightly towards the blade on either side, each side ending with a diamond shaped piece of metal, roughly an inch in width, the same metal that the blade was made of. In the center of each diamond shape, there was a rather large gem that looked like a ruby. They showed on either side of the metal. The grip looked like it was made of leather, stained black, and didn't really stand out in any way. It was only the grip, after all. At the end of the grip, there was another diamond shaped piece of metal, same as the two on the hilt yet about a half again larger. In it there was another gem, this one a deep black, probably a large piece of Obsidian. Sakaki felt compelled to touch the sword, and reached towards it. She yanked her hand back when she heard familiar sounding voices coming from the other end of the clearing.

"Oi, Nyamoooo! Slow dooown!"

"Enough, Yukari, it's not my fault you had to drink so much!" Tomo called out upon realizing who it was.

"Aw, why the hell are _they_ here." An annoyed looking Minamo Kurosawa and a very drunk Yukari appeared at the edge of the clearing. Yukari had heard Tomo.

"Do not refer to us as _they_, you little brat!" Tomo egged her on.

"And what're you gonna do about it?"

"Why you little…" Minamo sighed beside her friend.

"Yukari…" Yukari lost it, and bolted forward into the clearing, intent on hurting Tomo – only to collapse face first in a heap on the grass.

"I… can't… move." Yukari said, in a strained voice. Tomo laughed.

"It's the same for us. There's some weird barrier or something."

Sakaki looked back at the sword. The _presence_ in her mind now urged her to pick it up. She reached her hand forward. As it drew nearer, she began to hear a low tone coming from the sword, similar to that of a tuning fork, yet much lower in tone. She gulped, and reached the last bit of distance at once. Her hand now rested on the large obsidian gem at the end of the grip. The tone abruptly stopped. Seeing no danger, she lowered her hand and curled her fingers around the grip. With a quick tug, the sword came loose. It wasn't nearly as heavy as she thought it was, light enough to be lifted with one arm. Guided by the _presence_ in her mind, she raised the sword up and pointed it into the sky. Sakaki noticed the moon was full, and had just come out from behind some clouds. The moonlight hit the sword, and it shined brighter than before. All of a sudden there was another bright flash of light, followed by darkness as she slipped into unconsciousness…

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**Author's notes**: Oooh… mysterious. Also, I am sorry if my description of the sword was hard to follow. If you need help visualizing it, search Claymore on Wikipedia. The first picture is what it sorta looks like, except the mahogany hilt, and gems on either side (in the diamond shaped things) and at the end of the hilt. Search Obsidian too, if you don't know what it is.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it so far. I have a lot of ideas written down from the cottage, so you'll probably see a lot of chapters added to this story before any of my others.

Till next time…


	3. Chapter 2: Kansas?

**A few opening words:** Guess what? I has a Katana! Yup, a real sword. It ain't too sharp (needs sharpening) but its real. Also, I got the RvB DvDs, so I'm surprised I actually got time to write this. Anyway, enjoy…

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Kaorin slowly opened her eyes. Her whole body hurt, it felt as if she had a bad sunburn all over. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, and rubbed her head, now aware of a bad headache as well. 

"Ooooh…" Kaorin looked around. All her friends were collapsed in the clearing, but not where they had been before. The teachers were nowhere to be seen. Kaorin inspected herself, and found her clothes were quite badly burned, and almost in pieces. _Oh man, and I loved this outfit too… at least it'll still hold together. _Kaorin rubbed her forehead; the headache was dying down. Standing up, she wandered over to Sakaki, and kneeled down beside her.

"Sakaki-san? Are you alright?" Kaorin noticed Sakaki was no longer holding the sword; it was in a long scabbard lying beside her on the ground. The scabbard was completely black, with red highlights. _How did that get there?_Her clothes were also burned, and were in worse condition than Kaorin's. Now that she looked at her other friends, Kaorin saw that all their clothes had been partly burned. Even the grass in the clearing appeared to be singed. Confused, she stood up and took in the scenery. Large trees, far larger than the trees from the park, surrounded the clearing on all sides but one, where a semi-steep hill was. She couldn't see any of the tall buildings that were common in Tokyo. Before she could figure out a reason for the strange new surroundings, Kaorin noticed Sakaki begin to stir.

"Sakaki-san? Are you awake?"

"Hhnnn… Ow… Kaorin? Why do I hurt… everywhere?"

"I'm not sure, I felt the same way when I woke up, but the pain's almost gone for me now."

"Where are we?" She asked as she sat up and began to look around.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look like the park." Sakaki felt the grass, and noticed it was singed. She quickly stood up and noticed her clothes were too, just as what was left of her shirt fell off. Her face turned a bright red and she dropped to her knees clutching her chest. Kaorin, also blushing furiously, looked around for something she could use to help her friend. Then she remembered the sweater she had been wearing in the park. It had been too hot, so she had tied it around her waist. She took the sweater and went behind Sakaki. Doubting that it would fit her much taller, and _larger _friend, she brought the sweater around Sakaki's chest and tied the arms behind her back. She struggled for something to say, but could only manage an odd croaking sound. Sakaki seemed surprised, and turned around.

"Th-thank you, Kaorin." Kaorin simply nodded, and turned away. She noticed the other girls beginning to wake up, and went to help them. Sakaki on the other hand stood up and took in her surroundings. _Kaorin's right, this definitely isn't the park._ Then she noticed the sword in its scabbard down by her feet. She picked it up and inspected it, once again feeling the odd presence in her head. It seemed to recognize her or something, and receeded to the back of her mind. Sakaki could still feel it, but it seemed to have nothing to say, or imply. She noticed the scabbard came with a long strap attached near the top of it, and threw it over her right shoulder, so the strap went under her left arm.

Sakaki noticed the hill on one side of the clearing and jogged over to it. It wasn't too steep or tall, and she reached the top in no time. What she saw took her breath away. There in front of her, as if taken from the canvas of some famous painting, was a whole other world. This was definitely not Tokyo. The buildings and streets were replaced with rolling green hills, scattered forests here and there, and a complicated network of streams and rivers weaving its way through them. Off in the distance she could see a vast mountain range, which continued on as far as the eye could see, on all sides except for one. On this side lay what looked like a desert. She could almost see the heat rising off it, and what looked like a sandstorm off in the distance. The sandstorm was the only hint of bad weather that she could see; blue skies covered the rest of the land. A strong breeze hit her, nearly blowing the sweater off. Holding it down, she looked down from her current position. They seemed to be on one of the taller hills in the area. She couldn't tell what lay to the other side of the small clearing, as the tall trees blocked their view.

"Whoa." The voice from beside Sakaki startled her. A quick glance told her it was Kagura. Her clothes were also slightly burnt. The others were all awake, and were making their way to the top of the hill. She could tell they were all dealing with the pain as well, same as she and Kaorin had. Soon enough, they were all lined up on the top of the hill, staring out at this new world, wherever or whatever it may be. Tomo decided to speak up. To tell the truth, Sakaki was surprised she hadn't spoken until now.

"Looks like we ain't in Kansas no more…" Yomi seemed about to reprimand her friend, but she found herself somewhat in agreement. They definitely were _not_ in Kansas anymore.

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**Author's notes: **Alright, so there ya have it. So you guys know, this will be the last of the short chapters. The rest should be the length they are in my other fics. Anyway, not much to say here. 

Till next time!


	4. Chapter 3: Making Camp

**A few opening words: **Two chapters in one day! Wow! I really can't describe how much I'm enjoying writing this one. Also, we start the long chapters now. Enjoy.

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"Hey guys, the sun is starting to set." Sakaki looked over to where Tomo was pointing, as did everyone else. The sun was still up, but the light was beginning to fade, and the sky turning orange. It had been roughly noon when they 'arrived' in this world, judging by the sun's position. Also, based on the sunset, Sakaki figured that the desert was to the west, and the mountains to the north. This was assuming that this world orbited the sun the same way. 

"Desert to the west… mountains in the north…"

"Sakaki-san? What are you thinking?"

"Hm? Oh, Chiyo-chan. I was making a sort of mental map of the area. It doesn't match any geography I know of. Desert to the west, mountains north, and lush rolling hills in between… Also, that's just based off the sun. What doesn't add up is with the trees. Moss covers the whole base, not just the North side like it should. If I followed that, then the mountains would be to the south."

"Where did you learn all that stuff?"

"My dad and I went on a hiking trip a few years ago. He made sure I knew everything I needed to know to survive in this situation. Speaking of which," she said, standing up. She turned to address everyone. "We should start to set up a camp somewhere. We'll need water, so one of the rivers down there," she pointed to the hilly terrain, "will do nicely. Follow me." Ten minutes later, and the seven girls were hiking down the hill. It was somewhat steeper on the opposite side, and there were quite a few rocks. Along the way they had all found sticks large enough and strong enough to use as walking sticks. Sakaki led the pack. They were heading towards a small river at the base of the hill. Kagura sped up a bit and joined Sakaki up front.

"Sakaki! When did you become so assertive? Less than a day ago you barely spoke at all."

"Since I realized we probably won't be going home any time soon. I figured it would be a good idea to put my survival skills to use."

"Ah. So, what's the plan then?"

"Well, we set up camp by the river. Maybe make a tent or hut or something for shelter if we need it. We'll need to gather firewood and make a fire before the sun sets though, so we don't have too much time."

"Cool. What can I do to help?"

"Watch your step."

"Wha - agh!" Kagura tripped on a rock, and fell face forward into the grass. She slid a few feet down the hill before Sakaki grabbed her foot. She stood back up, with Sakaki's help, and waited for the others to catch up. Sakaki continued on. She hadn't minded talking to Kagura, but at the moment, she preferred silence. She had a lot on her mind to think about. Sakaki had given up trying to figure out where they really were, and had settled on not being able to get home for a while. Whenever she thought about this strange world, the other presence in her mind seemed to tell her that she was right, and that it wasn't their world, or at least their world as they knew it.

Sakaki then began to wonder what this _presence_ in her mind was. It seemed that whenever she had a question about this world, or really anything else, it had an answer. She never heard any words, not even in her mind. It was just a _feeling_ that told her yes or no, or conveyed ideas. _Wait, this _presence _appeared when I got the sword. Could this be the sword communicating to me? _The _presence _conveyed that this was true. _Well, it is a magic sword after all._ It answered yes again. _I kind of figured that, you know._ Again, it answered yes. _Great, a sword with a sense of humor. _Yes again. _Or maybe not. Well, do only yes or no questions work? _A short pause, followed by a no. _Hmm. Well then, what should I call you, sword? _Sakaki couldn't explain what happened next. It felt as if the _presence_ was searching through her mind, probably looking for something to explain its name. It stopped, and suddenly Sakaki could see a computer screen. The image zoomed in, and she could see an internet browser full of text. The image zoomed in more, and focused on the word Ragnarok. It stayed there for a few moments before fading again. It was different than the usual feelings it used to convey the answer. This time, it was projecting an image into her head. _Ragnarok huh? I take it you can't actually speak? _No. _So, what happened there? I remember the computer. Did you use my own memories to convey the answer? _Yes. _Well, um, nice to meet you. _Ragnarok seemed to copy her feelings when she thought that, and played them back at her. Sakaki didn't really mind having the presence, but she couldn't stop thinking about how weird it was to be talking to a _s__word_.

Sakaki brought her mind back onto the task at hand, and realized they were almost at the base of the hill. Light was fading fast. She estimated that they had maybe an hour of daylight left. The sword's presence faded to the back of her mind. She was thankful it knew when she was talking, or _thinking _to it. Upon reaching the base of the hill, she turned and waited for the others. Kagura led the rest, followed by Yomi, Kaorin, and then Tomo. Chiyo and Osaka had lagged behind a bit. Once they had caught up, Sakaki led them into the forest that surrounded the river and followed it through the hills. After only a few minutes of walking, they arrived at another small clearing at the side of the river.

"Alright. It doesn't look like rain, so we should be fine without shelter. All that leaves us with is a fire. Kagura, you'll come with me to get some firewood. The rest of you, well, settle in. Wash yourself and your clothes in the water if you want. I doubt there is any pollution in this area, so the water should be safe to drink. If you do wash your clothes, set them aside after. You'll catch a cold if you sit around all night with wet clothes on, so hang them in a tree or something until we get a fire going." Kaorin spoke up.

"You mean… naked?" Kagura answered before Sakaki had a chance to.

"Do we really have another option. Besides, we're all girls right?" Kaorin blushed furiously.

"Yeah…" Now that the matter was settled, Sakaki motioned to Kagura, and they headed into the woods in search of firewood.

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"Well, who's with me?" Tomo threw off her clothes and ran into the river, dunking her head once she was deep enough. She surfaced, and waved at them. 

"Come on! The water's great!" Yomi laughed, and sat down.

"Come on Yomi! No one cares about your weight problem, now get in here!" Before anyone knew what happened, Yomi's clothes were off and she had Tomo in a headlock under the water. Osaka looked over at Chiyo and Kaorin with a smile. Kaorin was already blushing again. She was sure her face would stay this color.

"Might as well. Let's go take a dip, Chiyo-chan!"

"Yeah. You coming, Kaorin?" Kaorin shoved her embarrassment aside. The water would feel good after all, and she hadn't showered since the day before.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

After a while of messing around, mainly splashing and being splashed, everyone grabbed their clothes to give them a quick wash. The sun was almost completely down by the time Sakaki and Kagura returned with an armful of wood each. They dumped it in a pile before Kagura shed her clothes and dove into the water. Sakaki on the other hand made a small pyramid structure with some wood, and stuffed it with the twigs and dry moss they brought as well. She set one thick branch up, and using the sword she split one end down the middle. Stuffing some twigs and moss into the crack, she took a smaller stick and began to quickly rub it against the larger stick, back and forth in the direction of the kindling. After five minutes, she began to get frustrated. _Come on and light! _Sakaki stopped for a moment to rest her arms. _This is harder than I thought…_ She started to rub the stick again, and almost instantly the whole one end of the larger stick burst into flames. She quickly pulled her hands back, startled. Feeling it was safe, she took the stick and threw it into the pyramid of wood. In a few moments, she had a sizeable campfire going. _Finally. But how did that happen. _The sword's presence seemed to nudge her mind. _That was you? _It answered yes. _Well, thanks._ Sakaki called out to the other girls.

"I got the fire going! Grab a few sticks, wet them, and then stick them into the ground near the fire. Hang your wet clothes on them, the heat from the fire will help dry them. We don't have any food right now, so we're gonna have to persevere until morning." Kaorin, and the rest who were in the water, gathered their things and headed for the fire. After following Sakaki's instructions, they sat before the fire - which had grown quite large after Kagura added some more wood - and told random stories until they were dry. Sakaki was still in the water; Kaorin could hear the water splashing. Before long, everyone had lain down and fallen asleep near the fire. Kaorin was lying too, but wasn't asleep. She heard the sounds of someone approaching, and shifted to see who it was. Sakaki had finished washing, and hung her clothes on a stick as the others had done. She sat down beside Kaorin, and noticed she was still awake.

"You should get some sleep. It'll be a tough day tomorrow."

Kaorin nodded, and rolled back over. There was no way she could sleep now! Not with the person she admired most beside her, completely naked, with her rather generous female anatomy exposed! Her face was so hot, the fire's heat paled in comparison. Even though she felt so strongly to the opposite, she was asleep in seconds.

* * *

Morning broke, and one by one the girls woke up and dressed. Luckily, everyone had had a good sleep. Sakaki put on her short, and studied the sweater given to her the other day by Kaorin. She drew the sword, and cut off the arms and hood. Setting them aside, she put the sweater on. It was a little tight on her chest, but it fit. Kaorin noticed her, and joined her by the fire, which was now just a few glowing pieces of burnt wood. 

"Sakaki-san? What are you doing?"

"Oh, um… sorry about the sweater. We'll use the fabric from the arms as bandages if anyone gets hurt, and the hood as a makeshift bag."

"Oh, well, I'm glad the sweater's useful. But," her cheeks reddened as she said this; "isn't it a little tight on your… chest?"

"A… a little. It's not bad though, I don't mind."

After everyone had woken up and taken a drink, Sakaki addressed the group.

"Alright. Now that we have enough wood to last and a stream for water, all we need is food. We'll break into teams of two and search for fruit or whatever we can find. Don't go far; you don't want to get lost." Chiyo spoke next.

"But there are seven of us. Who's going alone?"

"I am. I have a sword for protection, should I need it, remember? Alright, now if there are any more questions, let's break off and get some food."

Without any hesitation, the girls split into pairs and headed into the forest, Sakaki on her own. Kagura went with Osaka, Chiyo with Kaorin, and much to her dismay, Tomo left with Yomi.

* * *

"Kaorin-san! Over here! I found some berries!" 

"Coming, Chiyo-chan!" Kaorin and Chiyo had been searching for probably about ten minutes. This was the first food they had found. Kaorin caught up with Chiyo in no time. The small girl already had an armful of the small blue berries.

"I'll go drop these back at camp and come back for more.

"Alright. Be careful. I'll wait here till you get back to take my load. That way, we won't forget where it is."

"Sure!" With that, Chiyo took off in the direction of the camp.

_I wonder how Sakaki is __doing._ Kaorin busied herself picking the berries. She heard a twig snap, and stopped.

"Chiyo-chan? Is that you?" She was about to turn around, when something blunt hit her in the back of the head. Hard. Stars exploded into her vision, and she fell unconscious.

* * *

Chiyo had dropped off the berries and headed back into the forest, intent on getting more. She had tasted one, and they were _delicious._ She saw the twisted tree they had passed and was about to announce her arrival when she heard voices up ahead. She panicked and hurriedly hid behind a tree. She peeked out and what she saw drained the color from her face. There was a group of three men, each bigger than the last. They all had large menacing looking weapons. One had an unconscious Kaorin over his shoulder, and they were talking in some foreign language. She watched them go, and sprinted back to the camp, berries long forgotten. Chiyo was grateful to find everyone else already back. She called out as she ran to them. 

"Sakaki-san! Kagura-san!" Sakaki turned, and kneeled down. She steadied the exhausted girl with an arm on the shoulder.

"Chiyo-chan, tell me what happened. Where's Kaorin?"

"She's… she's been kidnapped! They took her!"

"Who!? Who took her Chiyo-chan!?!"

"M-men! There were three! They had weapons, and spoke funny! They took her, Sakaki-san! They...took her..!" Chiyo broke down crying. Sakaki passed her off to Kagura, and whispered as she did.

"Take charge here. Stay here until we get back." Kagura hesitated, then nodded. Sakaki drew Ragnarok, and sliced off a strip of a leg of her shorts. Using it, she tied her hair into a long pony-tail. Sword in hand, and a grim look of concentration on her face, she sprinted off into the forest.

* * *

**Author's notes: **And now we get into the story. I guess the world isn't as nice as the girls thought is it? Now Kaorin is in trouble, and it's up to Sakaki to save her.

Sorry if any of the characters get, well, out of character in this fic. I'll try to keep them in character for the most part, but I am also going to have them act how I feel they would act in certain situations, like how Sakaki took charge in this chapter.

I don't really have anything else to point out, so I'll get to work on the next chapter (these things are practically writing themselves).

Till next time!


	5. Chapter 4: Taken Captive

**A few opening words: **First of all, I want to issue an apology to Kaorin fans. I know she always gets the short straw, and I just put her in a worse situation than usual. I will promise you though that I will make it up to you guys, in a way. Anyway, you'll just have to bear with it. So, without further adieu, let's get on with the chapter.

* * *

"So… what do we do now?"

"I don't know... I don't know!" It was about two hours ago when Sakaki ran off to save Kaorin. She had left Kagura in charge. Unfortunately, the sudden disappearance of two of her friends, added to suddenly being in charge, proved too much for her to handle. She broke down under the pressure. Luckily Yomi had kept her cool, and relit the fire before the embers cooled off. She figured it would be best to keep Tomo away from her until she recovered, so she sent Tomo with Osaka and Chiyo to the river to wash up and occupy them while she herself comforted Kagura.

"Look Kagura, there was nothing you could've done…"

"Yes dammit there was! I could've gone with Kaorin! I could've been there to fight them off! We should've split up in a way that someone who could defend themselves would be in each pair."

"There was no way we could've known there were dangerous people here..."

"…which is why we should've been more careful!" Much to Yomi's dismay, Tomo decided to chip in.

"Yo Kagura! Quit whining and get a hold of yourself!"

"Tomo-"

"No Yomi, I'm not done." Tomo walked out of the water, and towards Kagura. "Sakaki put you in charge, but I don't think that was a good idea, do you? You're obviously not a good leader, I mean come on! You aren't even yourself! The Kagura I know wouldn't cry about her mistakes, she'd work on fixing them. So if you just wanna be some crybaby bitch, then go ahead, but let someone else who can handle the pressure take charge." She was right in Kagura's face when she said this. Yomi was shocked.

"Tomo… I… that was too far." Kagura looked about ready to burst into tears, when she did the unthinkable. Her expression hardened, and she floored Tomo with a straight punch to the jaw.

"Fine! You want me in charge, I'm in charge! Chiyo! Osaka! Look around out there for some sharp rocks! Don't go too deep though, I don't want to have to save you. Yomi, get the fire nice and hot. I'm gonna find some long, sturdy sticks or branches. We're gonna make something to defend ourselves with. Tomo, you can stay and help whoever needs it. Now get to work!" As everyone went to their tasks, Kagura bent down to the still dazed Tomo and whispered so only she could hear. "Thanks, I needed that."

"Glad… I could help…"

* * *

Kaorin woke up to pain. Her head was still ringing from the blow to her head, and moving it seemed to cause the pain to intensify. But, there was nothing she could do about that, so she chanced a look around. She was currently bound by the wrists and ankles. She also became aware that she was hanging from a tree upside down, tied from her ankles. She was glad she at least still had her clothes.

Judging from the position of the sun, Kaorin figured a few hours had passed. _I wonder if they know I'm gone yet. Huh, they probably don't even care. _She looked around, and counted about 30 of the armed men. _Must be a group of Bandits or something, _she thought. _I hope this whole world isn't full of them. _The throbbing in her head reminded her that she had more pressing matters to worry about. _That is, if I ever get the chance to see the rest of it._

It was then that one of the men seemed to notice she was awake. He mentioned something to the others, and two more approached her. They cut the rope holding her, and she fell unceremoniously to the ground with a cry of pain, eliciting laughter from the surrounding bandits. One of the men picked up the rope tied to her wrist restraints, and dragged her over to a horse, which she hadn't seen before. Before she knew what was happening, she was being led through the forest by the horse, the group of bandits arrayed in a column ahead of and behind her. They didn't seem to let up even when she tripped. She was dragged several feet before she managed to stand up and walk again. _This is hell, _she thought. _Why me?_ She slowed pace slightly, and was met with the butt of a spear between her shoulder blades, causing her to stumble and fall again. The bandits broke into a fit of laughter as she tried to shut out the pain. _I hope someone finds me soon. _In an attempt to block out the world, she flooded her mind with the many memories and dreams she had of Sakaki, and the others. It was all she could do to forget the harsh reality.

* * *

From her perch high in the branches of what seemed to be an oversized Oak tree, Sakaki observed the bandit convoy pass by beneath her. She counted 45 men and three horses. She could clearly tell who was in charge. A large man rode atop a big black horse in the middle of the convoy. He wore an elaborate set of armor, decorated with way more jewels and fine metals than was necessary, no doubt trying to make himself seem superior to others. Sakaki quietly climbed down the tree, and darted deeper into the forest, but she still kept tabs on where the convoy was. She arrived at another large oak, and climbed to its higher branches. Judging by its current speed, the convoy would pass by her in an hour or so. Sakaki untied the long branches she had tied to her back, using a strip of her shorts. Drawing Ragnarok, she used it to sharpen the ends of the branches, intending to eventually turn them into javelins, so she could inflict casualties from a distance. The whole while, she had Ragnarok teach her various sword fighting techniques through her mind. She had discovered that the sword didn't need to use her memories to help her understand, only to find a word in her language to use as its name. Sakaki didn't like the idea of hurting or even killing another being, but this was something she had to do. She wasn't about to just let one of her few friends get taken away while she was able to do something about it.

* * *

"Did you have to hit me that hard, Kagura?" Kagura turned around on the log she was sitting on near the fire. She had been hardening the sharpened ends of the branches she had collected in the fire. Chiyo and Osaka had sharpened the ends with rocks, and were now working on making string from a weird type of grass they had found near the edge of the water. It was thin, but strong for its size. They planned to thread them together to form a longer and stronger string, and hopefully make a bow using it and the branches Yomi was working on. Tomo had recovered (somewhat) and went to find more suitable branches and sticks to use as spears and arrows (once the bows were done). She walked back to camp with a bundle of branches in one arm, her other hand rubbing her jaw with the other.

"Well, you did lay it on kind of hard. I was just returning the favor. Dump those over there and come with me." Tomo dropped the branches in a pile near the fire and followed Kagura, who had finished hardening all the sharpened sticks, and brought the bundle along. They arrived at the edge of the water, and Kagura pointed to where she had set up a large log about 20 yards downstream, on their side of the river. Tomo was confused.

"So… what's the deal here?"

"That," Kagura said, pointing to the log. "Is our target."

"What? Target?" Tomo asked, still confused. Kagura sighed, and hefted one of the improvised spears over her shoulder. She took a short few steps and launched the spear at the target, using her whole body to put as much power into the throw as possible. The improvised weapon wasn't perfect, but it flew straight enough, and impacted slightly to the left of where she was aiming. They walked over to inspect the shot. The spear had buried itself deep in the half rotten log. Due to the log's decaying state, it was easy to remove. Kagura stuck the butt of the weapon into the ground and leaned on it.

"Bet ya can't beat that." Tomo's mouth broke into a wide grin. She ran back to the stack of spears, and began to practice throwing as Kagura rejoined the others to discuss their next move. They wouldn't have to worry about food for a while; they had a large pile of fruit to eat when they got hungry. So far though, no one had seen any animals. Kagura arrived at the fire and took a seat on one of the logs, grabbing a fruit along the way. She took a bite of what looked similar to an apple, and spit it out.

"God, that's sour." She chucked it into the forest. "Hey Chiyo, it's getting kinda dark. Have you guys figured out how to get the string right yet?"

"Oh, we finished that just after you and Tomo left. We're having trouble actually assembling the bows though. The string isn't stretchy enough, and the sticks keep breaking."

"Well, don't worry if you can't get it to work. The spears seem to work great." Kagura looked around. "Hey, where'd Osaka go?"

"She went off to meditate over behind that big tree over there. She said something about 'feeling her surroundings'." Yomi said, pointing out the tree.

"You know, she's been acting strangely since we appeared her. I hope she's alright…" Chiyo added.

"I'm sure she's fine. I'll go talk to her." Kagura made her way to the tree, and peered around the side. She saw Osaka sitting cross-legged facing the other direction. Kagura was about to speak up when a small pebble hit her face.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"Oh, sorry about that."

"That was you, Osaka?"

"Yeah, I must've lost focus. It won't happen again." Kagura leaned against the tree.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Didn't Chiyo-chan tell you? I'm getting in touch with mah surroundings."

"Oh…kay… Look, why don't you come back with us. I don't want you getting lost while you're off in your own little world." Osaka stood up and turned to head back.

"Sure thing Miss Kagura. You're the boss, after all."

"Well, yeah, but you don't have to treat me like upper management. I'm still your friend after all." Osaka gave her a cheery smile as she sat down.

"Sorry. Mah mistake."

The light was beginning to fade, and the girls, all but Tomo, took their seats around the fire and ate fruit in silence. It seemed like no one had anything to say, so they just simply ate fruit and collected their thoughts for a while. The sun was halfway set when they heard a muffled cursed from Tomo's direction. She came running around the tree line and towards the camp with the stack of spears under her arm, yelling something about 'men' and 'boats'. Kagura met her halfway as she dropped the spears.

"Tomo, Tomo, calm down! What happened?" She held the panting girl by the shoulders, and added, "And why the hell are you so exhausted? You only ran like a hundred yards!"

"Shut up. There were two of them, two boats full of men coming down the river. They had weapons."

"What? Are you sure?" Tomo nodded, and showed Kagura her bicep, which had a fair sized cut on the side.

"Arrows. One grazed my arm."

"Damn! More of them! Alright, Chiyo and Osaka, you guys grab a spear and stay back, Yomi and Tomo, protect them."

"What about you?" Before she had a chance to answer, Kagura heard yelling in another language, and spotted a boat appear from behind the trees, drifting down the river. It was long and thin, like a big canoe, yet wide enough for the men to sit side by side. There appeared to be ten men in it. The one in front appeared to be in charge. There was no second boat to be seen. Kagura was going to ask Tomo if she was sure about them having weapons, when a pair of large arrows buried themselves at her feet. The lead man yelled something in another language, and the men used their oars to turn the boat towards shore. Kagura grabbed a spear and hefted it over her shoulder. Taking aim at the lead man, she took a few steps and launched the spear. It flew straight and true, hitting the man dead center between the eyes. He fell limply of the side of the boat, quite obviously dead. Kagura felt no remorse at this point; she only cared about keeping her friends safe. The other men in the boat became enraged and hopped the sides once it was shallow enough to stand. Kagura was about to toss another spear when she heard a gruff voice from behind her call out in another language. She quickly turned, weapon at the ready. Tomo, Chiyo, Yomi, and Osaka were surrounded by another group of men, presumably from the second boat. They had dropped their weapons, and it was clear that the men wanted her to do the same. A man wearing brightly colored armor approached her and yanked the spear from her grip. Before the girls knew what was happening, they were bound by their wrists and led forcefully to the boats. Chiyo, Osaka and Kagura were in the boat that had landed nearby, and Yomi and Tomo were led to the other, with the man in charge. Just as they were separated, Kagura heard Tomo mutter something under her breath.

"This place fuckin' sucks."

Kagura couldn't agree more.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Sorry for the bit of swearing, but you'd do the same in a similar situation. As mentioned before, if the characters seem a bit OOC, its cause I am trying to have them act how I imagine they would, given the circumstances. Also, remember I won't be updating the other stories until I finish putting the ideas I had into chapters for this one.

Anyway, till next time!


	6. Chapter 5: In Action!

**A few opening words: **I said it before, and I'll say it again. This thing is writing itself! Anyway, enjoy...

* * *

Sakaki leaned back against the trunk of the big oak tree. She was on a branch about halfway up, hidden by the leaves. Roughly 200 yards away was the bandit camp. She had sharpened 6 long sticks into javelins to use as a ranged weapon. She would've liked to charge in there and save Kaorin tonight, but she wouldn't stand a chance against 45 armed men. Even her sword thought it was a bad idea, as odd as it was. She would have to fight guerilla style. Sakaki had already planned out her strategy: tomorrow and the next day she would skirt the edges of the camp and take out as many stragglers or patrols as possible. If the bandits decided to move her plan held, she would simply follow and eliminate them if any strayed from the group. The night after tomorrow (the third night of captivity for Kaorin) would be when she would strike. During the next few days while killing the patrols, she would keep an eye out for where she was being held, so that when the time came she could have her escape already planned out. Her escape route was to find the river and follow it to a town or the ocean. Eventually they would arrive at civilization, whatever that might be in this world. The sword's presence pinged her mind, reminding her that, should the opportunity arise, it would help to take out the leader of the bandits. If this happened it would make it easier to get in and out with Kaorin during the resulting confusion.

Sakaki rested her head against the tree and closed her eyes. Now was the time for rest; tomorrow she had fighting to do. As she drifted off to her dreams, she wondered how the rest of her friends were doing…

* * *

"Well, this officially sucks."

"Shut it Tomo, you've been saying that since we were thrown in here." Currently, all five girls were sitting in a cell on a pirate ship. Or at least this world's equivalent of a pirate ship. It was long and rather thin comparatively. It reminded them of the Roman Triremes they had read about in history, only without the oars and with two extra masts. From through the small circular window they saw they were at sea, and it was night. It hadn't been a long trip to get to the ship. It turns out the sea lay probably about three kilometers east (if using the sun as a marker) of their camp. After tossing them in the cell, the pirates had left them well enough alone.

"Well, what are we gonna do then?" Tomo asked for the fifth time. Kagura was getting increasingly annoyed.

"Tomo, you can see our current situation right? With the armed pirates, metal bars, and ship at sea? You _can_ see that right?"

"Well yeah, but…"

"No buts, just stop asking. I can't think with you constantly talking." Kagura scanned the cell, looking for something they could use, when she saw Chiyo asleep against Osaka's shoulder. Thinking for a moment, she made up her mind, and lowered her voice to a whisper.

"You know what? I think the best thing to do right now is get some rest. We'll figure something out in the morning."

* * *

Kaorin was beginning to feel the effects of not eating for a whole day. It was making it hard to get to sleep, which didn't help in these conditions. She was tied to a high branch by her wrists so that she was basically standing the whole time. Her whole body ached from being dragged by the horse repeatedly; the scrapes on her knees and elbows were testament to that. She was about to actually drift off to sleep when she noticed a pair of men approaching her. One was average size compared to the others, but the second was huge, fully two feet taller. He looked quite tough too. She was untied from the tree before the larger of the two literally dragged her to the main fire area. He stopped right by the fire and used a small dagger to cut her restraints. Kaorin shakily stood up and looked around. The majority of the bandits had formed a circle around her. The only other person in the circle was the large man. He paraded around, and the crowd began to laugh and cheer at him. He turned to her, and stood in a fighting stance. He waved her forward, as if wanting her to attack him. _They can't be serious? _She thought. _Can they? _Her question was answered when she was kicked in the back, sending her sprawling forward. This caused a roar of laughter from the crowd. They only laughed harder when they saw the tears in her eyes. This struck a nerve.

Kaorin stood up, and spat out some blood that had sprouted from her tongue, which she had accidentally bit when she hit the ground. The large man finally noticed she was standing, and chuckled to himself. Kaorin surged forward and threw a strong punch at his midsection. He wasn't wearing armor, so it should hurt right? Her punch connected, but had no visible effect. She looked up, and found him grinning widely. The next thing she knew his fist connected with her face, sending her to the ground again. She struggled to rise again, but couldn't find the strength. The man laughed at her, and so did the crowd. All she could hear was laughter. Then the large man did something unthinkable. He spat on her. It hit her in the cheek. This was the last straw. She was angry at him before, but now she was just plain disgusted. Kaorin summoned up strength she didn't know she had, and pulled herself up. The crowd stopped laughing, as she rushed the larger man. He threw a punch aimed at her head, but she dodged to one side. Continuing the movement, she jumped and wound up for a punch. She saw her target, and let the punch fly. She landed on her feet and continued on for a few steps putting some distance between her and her opponent. Turning around, the crowd was silent. The man slowly turned to face her. He began to laugh and wiped away a small bit of blood that dripped from his lip.

Kaorin froze. She was exhausted; that last outburst had taken a lot out of her. The man then turned serious. Before she knew what happened, his hand shot out and gripped her throat. He lifted her up by the neck, making it hard to breath. He brought her back and tossed her effortlessly away. She hit the dirt hard and rolled to a stop. She could feel her torn clothes begin to give. As she struggled to get up, his foot connected with her stomach, sending her flying again. She hit the ground, rolled, and tried to get up again. She couldn't hold it in, and vomited from the power of the blow. Wearily Kaorin looked up, just in time to see an armored boot hit her in the face. She wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep; she was unconscious before his kick connected.

* * *

Sakaki awoke at the break of dawn, with a little help from Ragnarok. It must've sensed the time and nudged her awake mentally. She parted the branches enough to see the camp and found they had packed up and were almost ready to move on. Sakaki caught a glimpse of Kaorin before the bandits started moving. She appeared to be unconscious, and had also lost her top along the way. In addition, Sakaki could see she was pretty beat up, which only fueled her anger. She gave herself a moment to calm down before she mentally ran over the plan. Soon they would send out patrols; that was when she would strike at them. Sakaki put her emotions on the backburner. She didn't like that she would have to kill people, whether or not they were evil. But it was either them or Kaorin, and Sakaki wasn't about to let them hurt her friend. She quickly climbed down the tree and began her pursuit.

* * *

Kagura awoke to find herself the only one awake, or at least she thought so. She checked the small window to see it was early morning. She turned to go lay back down when Osaka nearly gave her a heart attack.

"G'morning! Sleep well, Kagura?"

"Jesus! Don't scare me like that!"

"What? You thought ah was asleep? Heh, I thought you were more observant than that." This sounded weird to Kagura. Osaka was sitting cross legged against a wall with her eyes closed. She looked very much asleep.

"So… did you sleep well?"

"I didn't sleep."

"So you've been there all night?"

"Yep."

"What have you been doing?"

"Practicing."

"Right…" Kagura had already stopped paying attention. Having a conversation with Osaka was like going to Chucky Cheese; it's fun yet you have no idea what the hell is going on. Kagura had more important things to think about anyway, like how they were going to escape their dire situation. Food was dropped off by a mean looking fellow, but Kagura ignored it, saving it for those who needed it more. She was in charge, so she was responsible for everyone else's well-being.

* * *

Sakaki crouched on a branch fairly low in one of the giant oak trees that made up the forest. It was just low enough that she could jump down without injuring herself. One of the bandit patrols was coming her way. She readied one of her makeshift javelins and waited. She was fairly confident in her swordsmanship skills. The sword's 'lessons' taught her enough, and she felt she could count on it to help her should the need arise in a fight.

Sakaki tensed her throwing arm; the first of the three men came into view. She waited until her was directly under her and heaved the javelin downward. It impacted on the top of his skull, dropping him without a sound. The other two rushed up to him, yelling at each other in their native tongue. Sakaki quietly drew her sword, and slid off the branch. She dropped onto the first one's shoulders and drove his face into the ground, simultaneously bringing the sword across the other's unarmored chest in a powerful two handed slice. He dropped clutching his chest. He was gasping for breath; she must've cut deep enough to damage his lungs. Bandit number two was out of the fight. Sakaki was thrown to the ground as the man she was standing on rolled over and got to his feet. She was on her feet in an instant as he drew his weapon, a menacing looking one handed axe. He charged her, weapon held high over his shoulder, ready to be swung. He closed the distance quickly and brought the weapon down in a vicious overhand slice. Sakaki waited for just the right moment, and dodged nimbly to the side and forward behind him, bringing her sword under his shoulder and forcefully up, completely severing his right arm. The man had no time to scream as she spun around, sword following her movements, and quickly beheaded the man.

Sakaki waited, sword at the ready, until she was sure they were dead. She cleaned the blood off the sword with a strip of fabric off her shorts. She suddenly felt nauseous, but ignored it. There was still much to do. Sakaki removed the javelin from the first man's head and cleaned it as well. She was pleased to find the point was still intact. Sakaki tied it in with the others on the strap to Ragnarok's scabbard. Once it was secure, she ran off in the direction of the bandits to wait for the next patrol.

* * *

Kagura was literally wrecking her mind over a way to get out. Yomi, Chiyo, and Tomo were occupying themselves with word games, Chiyo the victor nine times out of ten. Osaka was simply sitting cross legged as before. It was nearly noon already and still she had yet to come up with an idea. She was about to ask the others if they had any, when she was hit in the forehead by a pebble.

"Hey! Osaka, quit throwing those!"

"I'm not throwing them, I'm…"

"Yeah, whatever." Then she thought about something. Osaka had been acting weird since they arrived in this world. She had also mentioned something earlier about 'practicing'. Kagura had shrugged it off as the usual Osaka nonsense, but this time…

"Osaka, earlier you said something about practicing. What exactly were you practicing?"

"This." She held out her hand, palm up, with a pebble in it. She closed her eyes, and as if by magic it rose into the air and hovered a good foot and a half above her hand. She opened her eyes. "Neat huh? Watch." The pebble floated around her head, then over to Kagura's and around hers, before dropping back into Osaka's hand. Tomo, who had seen all this, was at a loss for words. Kagura was stunned.

"So… what? Is that magic or something?"

"I guess so."

"Well, how does it work?"

"I've been trying to tell you the whole time, but ya just keep ignoring me. It's like I can _feel _my surroundings, ya know? And I can lift the smaller things, but without touching them. Though, it seems to take the same amount of strength as if I had done it myself."

"So… you mean like telekinesis then?"

"Yeah, that's the word!" Kagura found an idea forming in her head.

"Osaka, d'you think you could get those keys on the far wall?"

"No problem." She closed her eyes, and sure enough the keys floated off the hook and towards the lock. The others had noticed the strange happenings as well, and quietly watched from behind. The keys inserted themselves in the lock, and turned. The girls heard a click, and the door swung open. They gasped simultaneously.

"Whoa." Osaka simply smiled her usual smile.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Well, the plans get under way, and the action starts up! Also, this'll probably be the schedule for a while (a chapter a day). Also, if you read it, review it! I know there are some who read it and don't review. I like hearing what you think of the story, whether it be good or bad! Also, reviews bring faster updates, as they fuel me to churn them out knowing I have readers! Anyway, till next time! 


	7. Chapter 6: Pirates!

**A few opening words: **Yay! Driver's Ed is done! Boo! School about to start!

That is all.

-----

"So, what? Osaka's a wizard now?"

"Tomo, she's a girl. She'd be a _witch_." Yomi and Tomo argued back and forth while the girls discussed a plan. Unfortunately, their argument sucked everyone else in.

"Maybe it has something to do with this world?" Chiyo said. Everyone looked at her. "I mean like, maybe some of us have these abilities, yet we can't access them in our world." Everyone was silent, before Tomo burst out laughing.

"Yeah, right. _That _makes sense." She was whacked by Yomi.

"It makes more sense than your idea."

"What? Mine _so _makes more sense. Think about it: is it God's way of compensating, or some hidden ability we can't access in our world? Heh, I think the answer is obvious." Kagura had to stop this before the guards came to check on them. It wouldn't be good if they arrived to see the door wide open. Then she had an idea.

"Hey guys, that door over there," she said, pointing at the door in question. "I'm pretty sure it's the armory or something. Every time one of them went in there, he came out with weapons. We should check it out. Now follow me, and _please _keep quiet." Quickly and quietly, Kagura led the girls across the room to the door. Luckily it was unlocked. She waited, and prepared herself to face anyone who was inside. She mentally counted down. _3… 2… 1…_ She shoved the door open, and saw one man with his back to her. Hearing the door open he turned towards them, he turned to face them. Before he could do anything, Kagura roundhouse kicked him in the face. He hit the ground with a thud, unconscious.

"Boo-yah!" _Always wanted to do that. _She looked around the room, which was full of weapons. They hung off the walls, sat on shelves, and some were just piled on the floor. "Arm yourselves girls." Like a kid in a candy store, she roamed the room in search of a weapon that suited her. There were bows and arrows, axes, spears, swords, shields, and much more. She searched around and her eyes rested on a Shield resting against the wall in the corner, with the hilt of a sword sticking up behind it. The shield was round, probably 4 feet in diameter, and dark green in color. It had gold highlights, in a tribal type of pattern. She picked it up, and found the sword's scabbard was part of the shield. She drew the sword; the blade was just over a meter long. The hilt was fairly plain. It was steel, and the cross-hilt stuck straight out on either side, unlike the angled one on Sakaki's sword. The blade was silver in color, without the blue tint that Sakaki's also had. The hilt was also silver, and the grip black. The only thing worth noting was the emerald in the bottom of the hilt. Even though the set was plain, Kagura liked it. Slipping the shield on to her left forearm, she held the sword at ready in her right. The sword was well balanced, as was the shield. Having found herself a weapon, she turned to see what the others had found.

Tomo was inspecting a pair of short swords she had found. Sword was probably a bad word; they were only a foot long. She held one in each hand and twirled them around a bit. It seemed the kind of weapons you would need to be quick and agile to use effectively, if only in bursts. They fit her style perfectly. Using the straps on the scabbards, she strapped them to the back of her waist, so one hilt was on either side. Yomi was inspecting a large two handed war hammer she had found discarded on a corner. Large probably didn't describe it well. It was _massive_. The hammer end of it was almost twice the size of her head. It was made of steel painted a similar red to the hilt of Sakaki's sword, and was highlighted with silver in a weird vine-like pattern. The handle was plain, and appeared to be mostly wood, but there had to be more to it. The last two feet was the leather grip. There was no way Yomi would be able to lift it, or at least she thought. Kagura watched in amazement as Yomi picked it up to inspect the head, as if it weighed next to nothing. She approached Kagura with a confused look.

"Hey Kagura, what's up with this thing? Is it fake?"

"Yomi, how much would you say it weighs?"

"Um, 50 pounds give or take?" Kagura beckoned for her to drop it. She did so, and the hammer dropped head first to the ground, denting the wood. Kagura continued her demonstration, and tried to lift it. She failed to get the hammer off the ground. She estimated it weighed near 300 pounds.

"This thing has to weigh at _least _300 pounds." Kagura watched as Yomi effortlessly picked up the hammer and, using the shoulder strap and back clips, she attached it to her back, head at the bottom.

"Whatever, I like it."

"You know, maybe you have some sort of power here like Osaka does."

"I doubt that. This was the only one I could lift." To prove her point, she tried to lift a rather large two sided battle axe, failing miserably. "See?" Chiyo had overheard their conversation and came over to try and help.

"Maybe it's enchanted or something?"

"Enchanted?"

"Yeah, like someone put a spell on the hammer, so that it's light as a feather for only some people. I don't know, it's all very weird." Kagura shrugged.

"That's a good enough answer for me." She noticed neither Chiyo nor Osaka was carrying a weapon. She looked around, and found a pair of short, plain daggers. She tossed one to each girl. "Take those and strap them to your waist. You have to have _something _to defend yourself with." Thinking for a moment, she continued. "Speaking of which, I should probably warn you; we will most likely have to defend ourselves, and we may have to kill some people. It doesn't sit well with me either, but in a fight it's either you or them. Don't lose. I don't want to have to explain one of your deaths to Sakaki. Also, if you kill someone and have to be sick, at least wait until all the fighting's done, or you'll leave yourself vulnerable." Kagura studied their faces; other than a worried look on Chiyo, they were ready. She turned to the door to lead them out, shield strapped to her left forearm, sword in its scabbard.

"Kagura, behind you!" Almost on instinct, she threw her left arm back, which had the shield strapped on, and felt it connect with something not quite solid. She spun around and delivered a solid kick to the now conscious guard's groin. He dropped with a weird high pitched grunt.

"Stay down this time!" She kicked him in the stomach for good measure. "Alright girls, let's move. Quietly if you can."

Kagura led the 4 girls back into the brig, and out the opposite door into a hallway. She didn't remember the whole layout, but she knew the brig was at the back of the ship, as was the Captains quarters and the 'command deck' of sorts. There wasn't really a command deck, just a small raised section where the wheel was. She took the first door on the right, and found herself in the barracks, with two angry looking half dressed men. They grabbed their swords – cutlasses – and rushed them. Kagura brought out her sword quickly and held her shield high, blocking most of her body. Yomi charged through the door behind her, massive war hammer held tightly over her shoulder, ready to strike. The man closest to her swiped high, intending to behead her, but she ducked under the attack. She spun at the same time, bringing the hammer around in a bone crushing horizontal attack, completely destroying the man's legs as if they were toothpicks. She used the momentum from the swing to bring the hammer up, over her head and down onto the man's chest with a sickening thud. Her fight was over in a matter of seconds.

Kagura put her focus on the man in front of her, who held back, cautious after seeing his fellow man brought down so fast. She held her shield high, sword at the ready in her right hand. The man feigned to the left and slashed right with the sword. Kagura blocked it easily with her shield, and did a vertical slice with her sword. The man was able to bring his up in time to block it, but didn't expect Kagura's next move. She stepped forward and rammed him with her shield, knocking him off balance. Two quick swipes with her sword put deep gashes in his thighs and chest, followed by a final killing stab to the chest. He fell lifelessly to the deck. Kagura fought the urge to vomit from the killing; no matter what the circumstances were, it still felt wrong to take another being's life. She shoved those feelings aside, and noticed a ladder in the corner.

"There's our way to the deck. The Captain's probably up top, so if we can get to him, we may have a way off the ship." The girls crowded around the ladder, avoiding the corpses along the way. Chiyo seemed surprisingly unfazed, yet Kagura could tell she was terrified. She climbed the ladder, and opened the hatch a notch. They were on the right side of the ship. The hatch led to the back corner of the so called command deck. To the right of the hatch there was a pile of barrels and crates she would be able to use as cover. There were only three people on there: two deck hands and a man she knew must be the captain, for he was wearing a greatly over-decorated suit of armor, probably stolen from some rich person at one time or another. She closed the hatch and addressed the girls.

"Alright, the Captain and two men are up there; the rest are manning the boat. To the right there's a pile of crates and barrels we can use to hide behind when we get up there. So, I'll go up first and make sure it's clear. Then Yomi, and finally Tomo. Chiyo, Osaka, you two stay down here. There'll be fighting up there, and I don't want you hurt. Now, follow me." She climbed up the ladder and peered outside again. She waited until the three men were looking the other way before she quickly pulled herself up and out of the hole, hiding behind the crates. Yomi quickly followed, but Tomo had to wait, as one of the men turned their way. Luckily, he didn't see them. Finally, with all three of them up there, she formed a plan. Kagura grabbed a lit lantern from the railing, wondering why it was lit in the middle of the day, and got ready to throw it.

"I'm gonna throw this to the other end of the ship. It'll explode, or start a fire, or something, and it'll draw their attention away from here. That's when we strike. Tomo take the guy on the left. Yomi, take the right. I'll take the captain. Of, if you win before me, block the two staircases. Ready?"

"Just one thing, why is that lit?"

"Beats me. Alright, here goes." Kagura threw the lantern with all her might. It sailed across the length of the ship and landed on a pile of rope and canvas (for the sails), which instantly turned to flame. The whole crew went into an uproar, looking for buckets and such to douse the fire. The three girls sprinted from cover, and attacked. Their opponents had followed the path of the lantern to their hiding spot, and brought their weapons out just in time to block the girls' first attacks. Yomi's opponent had to duck, there was no way his sword would withstand a hit from her massive hammer. She went berserk on him, swinging the weapon at him from all sides, barely missing him each time. The deck crumbled wherever Yomi's war hammer missed. Finally, he was backed against the railing, and took the full force of her hammer in his shoulder. He was sent flying over the railing and into the water below. Yomi took up her position at the top of the stairwell. Tomo went at her opponent in a different way. Kagura knew she could be fast when she wanted to, but she'd never seen the girl like this. Tomo was nearly a blur, she focused on dodging her opponent's attacks rather than blocking them. He stabbed at her midsection, but she spun out of the way before he knew what was happening. Luckily for him he was wearing heavy armor like the Captain, because every time she dodged an attack, she would quickly strike him three or four times with her dual short swords. Then Tomo pulled a move Kagura hadn't expected; she ducked under a horizontal attack, and slid between his legs, slashing at his unprotected inner thighs as she went. He collapsed to his knees, and she stabbed him in the back with both swords as he went down. She too took her place at the other flight of stairs.

Kagura put her mind back on her own fight; she had been fighting defensively while watching her friends, wanting to make sure they were okay. Finally, she went on the offensive. She let loose a flurry of quick attacks, which the Captain effortlessly parried, and let loose his own. _Damn, he's good. I'll have to get creative. _Kagura blocked a vertical slash with her shield and spun around, as if going for a high horizontal attack. The Captain readied himself to counter her sword, but it never came. Instead, she slammed her shield into him, knocking him off balance. She spun a second time and delivered a powerful kick to the chest. He flew backwards into the railing of the upper deck. It crumbled under his weight, and he fell backwards onto the lower deck. The whole crew stopped what they were doing, and stared at their fallen Captain. Their stares shifted up to Kagura, who was still on the upper level. As the Captain started to rise, she heard someone shout from the back of the ship. This was different though, she could understand this person. He was speaking their language!

"Now's our chance! Attack men!"

Kagura watched as nearly half the crew members drew their own swords. She was terrified, there was no way they'd be able to take on a whole ship full of men. But then the unexpected happened. Instead of rushing the command deck, the pirates turned on their own crewmates. Soon, everyone on the ship was fighting amongst each other. _What the hell…_ Kagura then noticed the Captain was on his feet. She hopped down onto the lower deck and continued on the attack. She wasn't able to get through his counters, but she was still pushing him back. The mass of fighting pirates seemed to part around them; some had even stopped fighting entirely to watch. It must've been an odd sight, seeing their Captain getting beaten back by a young girl. Kagura fought hard, but she was starting to get tired. The sword and shield began to get heavier with ever block and attack. Suddenly, his sword found an opening in her defense, and cut into her left bicep. She cried out in pain, but now she was angry. Summoning up all her strength, she attacked faster than before, changing the type and direction of attack frequently. Before he knew what to do, the Captain's back touched the railing at the side of the ship. Kagura saw her opening, and with a powerful upward slash she knocked his sword flying. Continuing the motion, she spun around and struck out with her sword, catching him under the arm. She attacked once more with a stab, which finally found a gap in his armor. Her sword went right in between his cuirass and greaves. He cried out in pain, and clutched his gut as he tumbled over the railing and into the frigid water below.

Exhausted, Kagura made her way through the fighting and back up to the command deck. The pirates all seemed to be preoccupied with their own fighting to bother her. She had sheathed her sword and was clutching her left bicep, where the Captain's sword had left a huge gash that was bleeding freely. She sat down near the hatch and leaned back against the railing to rest a bit. Tomo and Yomi stood at the ready, though none contested them. Suddenly, the hatch flew open and Chiyo crawled up, followed by Osaka. They took a seat to either side of her. When Chiyo saw Kagura's wound, she gasped, and pulled out her dagger. She used it to cut a strip off her shirt. Using the strip, and despite Kagura's objections, she tied it tightly around Kagura's arm, covering the wound so it wouldn't bleed freely. It hurt, a lot, but Kagura sucked up the pain.

"Thanks Chiyo. That... ow… helps. Why did you two come up here?"

"We heard all the fighting, and wanted to help!"

"Well, why did the hatch burst open so quickly?" Osaka raised her hand, and gave a sort of apologetic laugh.

"Sorry, that was me. Chiyo-chan couldn't get the door open, so I used my power to help her. I guess I don't know my own strength." Kagura laughed.

"So what do we do now?" Tomo yelled from the top of the stairs.

"Well, we wait for the fighting to die down, then I guess roll with whatever happens."

Soon enough, the fighting did die down. One man in particular went around addressing each of the remaining men. He was taller than them, and appeared to be black. He looked muscular from what she could tell at a distance. One of his eyes appeared to be permanently shut, a rather large vertical scar covered it and traced down his cheek to his chin. Having finished addressing the others, he approached the stairs Tomo was watching, tossing his sword aside as he did, as a sign of peace.

"Don't come any closer!" Kagura stood up, still clutching her arm and pushed Tomo aside.

"He's unarmed, you idiot. I think it's safe to trust him." Before she had a chance to speak further, the black man addressed her.

"You… you speak the language of the Resistance?"

"What? Resistance?"

"Forgive me for my rudeness. I am Dedalus. These are my men. We had signed on this ship in the hopes we could convince the Captain to join the Resistance, but he refused. Since then, we have been waiting for the right time to strike. You girls have provided us with that chance. I thank you." He spoke with a heavy accent.

"Slow down. What is this 'Resistance' you keep talking about? Who are you people?"

"You do not know?"

"Hell no I don't. We just got here two days ago, and I don't know what the _fuck _is going on."

"Interesting... Now is not the time for discussion however. We should make landfall before night sets in; if we run into other pirates we will be woefully outmanned. I will answer your questions then. Until then, you and your company can take up residence in the barracks below. I will send someone later to tend to any wounds you may have.

"Right, about that. There's a pair of dead guys below, and they're kind of stinking' up the place. We'll stay up here if you don't mind."

"Do as you wish." Dedalus turned to address his men. He spoke in a different language, perhaps their native language. Kagura felt she could trust him, he seemed nice enough. Whatever his plans, it would be good to have allies. She wandered over to the back of the ship and sat down against the railing with the others. She cleaned her sword on a piece of canvas that was on the deck, and rested her head on the railing. Even though it was just barely past noon, she fell asleep in seconds.

-----

**Author's notes: **Wow. That was my longest chapter yet. If you're wondering about anything (like why the girls are so good at fighting) it will all be explained later on, like everything else. Anyway, I'm gonna go watch some Red vs. Blue, eat some food, and continue with the next installment. Stay tuned: Sakaki's day is up next!

Till next time!


	8. Chapter 7: Rescue!

**A few opening words: **A little hint about the world they are in: the world is one of my own creations, I didn't get it from anywhere. So, it is when and where I decide it is. Also, a little funny note, the last chapter was 3,500 words on the dot in Microsoft Word, yet when I uploaded it the site said 3,525 words. Weird. It won't be the same now; I added a few things to the Author's notes and stuff once it was uploaded. I just thought it was odd. Anyway, that is all. Enjoy.

* * *

Sakaki found herself having to calm down. She was frustrated that her plan had fallen apart. After she had taken out the third patrol, the bandits had stopped sending them out all together. The last one was probably a few hours ago. It was noon now, and she had been following them since then, hiding in the trees. The trees were sometimes close enough for her to jump from branch to branch, making her efforts easier. Ragnarok's presence in her mind had become a welcome thing; she treated it as a sort of sixth sense. It could alert her of most things, like if the branch she was on was weak, or if there was an enemy nearby she hadn't seen. Added to that it seemed to have a lot of knowledge on basically any subject, and also had the ability to call forth Sakaki's own memories, sometimes ones she didn't even remember she had.

After quickly scouting ahead, she found a large group of berry bushes, and filled her pouch with them, the pouch she had made from the hood of Kaorin's sweater. Then, judging from the last two times, she figured this was where the bandits would make camp, so she climbed up a large tree nearby, and hid among the leaves and branches. Soon enough, the bandits arrived, and just as she had predicted, they made camp. Luck seemed to be on her side as she watched them tie Kaorin to the tree right next to the one she was on. Unfortunately, luck didn't appear to have been on Kaorin's side. Sakaki could see she now had no clothes, probably from being dragged while unconscious. She also had many cuts and bruises, as well as a fairly large gash on her forehead. She was glad it wasn't bleeding freely; it seemed to have partly scabbed over. But to her dismay, Kaorin appeared to b unconscious. This only served to fuel her anger. Also adding to her anger was how the men treated her. They carried her around carelessly, as if she was a sack of potatoes or something. And the way they had laughed whenever she did really anything, _especially _when Sakaki had seen her crying in front of the laughing men the other day. All this had pushed Sakaki to her limits. They would not have her for another night. Today was when she would strike. She just had to wait for the right moment to strike. So, satisfied with her plan, she leaned back against the tree to get some rest, always with one eye open, ever alert.

* * *

The first thing that alerted Sakaki to the bandit leader's appearance was the noise. Or rather, lack of. She shook her head to fully wake up, and inspected the camp. It was dusk now, so fires had been lit. In the center of the camp stood the leader's tent. He had just emerged, so the rest of the bandits had stopped for a moment to give him respect before returning to their tasks. The leader looked around, and found Kaorin. He eyed her with a suspicious smirk on his face before heading in her direction. _He wouldn't dare. _Sakaki was so angry at him for what he was obviously planning to do, that she almost forgot that this was the chance she was waiting for. She stood up, and looked over to the tree Kaorin was tied to. She spotted a branch just large enough so that it would support her wait, directly in front of the branch she was on. She steadied herself and ran down the length of the branch and leaped across the gap. She landed on the other branch and almost slipped off; if not for a second one nearby she used to balance herself. Now she was directly above Kaorin, and the bandit leader was halfway here. She took a javelin out of the bundle on her back, and took aim. Before she threw it, she took a moment to note the positions of the two guards at the base of the tree. Then, with practiced precision, she let the weapon fly.

* * *

Kaorin had been drifting in and out if consciousness ever since the fight. She hadn't eaten in three days, and it was starting to affect her more than before. Her whole body was sore, her arms especially due to being hung by them all the time. She was having trouble even keeping her eyes open; probably also due to the fact she hadn't been able to get any meaningful sleep either. She was vaguely aware that the leader of the bandits was approaching, and even less aware of his sinister intentions. In truth, she had begun to lose hope that anyone would save her. It seemed all was lost. Her dream of Sakaki saving her on a white stallion, the dream that kept her sane for the last two days, seemed to be just that: a dream. Kaorin started to cry. She noticed the bandit leader getting closer, and was prepared to hear his laughter, but the unexpected happened. She heard nothing, except for a muffled _thunk. _She looked up, and saw the leader standing stock still, a terrified and surprised look on his face, and a meter and a half long spear sticking out of his neck, angled as if it were thrown from above.

Then, out of nowhere, a figure dropped down from above with feline grace. With the sword it had, it quickly dispatched the guards that were beside the tree with two quick slashes, both connecting with their necks, nearly beheading them. Then the figure turned towards her and, using the sword, it cut through the rope that was holding her up. The figure caught her before she hit the ground, sword already sheathed. It picked her up, and ran out of the camp with her in her in its arms. Kaorin was struggling to stay conscious, and just before she lost that fight, she came to realize who her savior was.

"Sa…kaki…san…?"

* * *

Sakaki ran as fast as she could, pushing her speed and agility to its limits. She had to be mindful of the many obstacles present in the forest, as well as jostling Kaorin as little as possible. She wasn't sure how serious her injuries were, but they weren't minor. The poor girl had passed out soon after leaving the camp. Sakaki could hear the yelling of the enraged bandits behind her, and a few badly aimed arrows collided with trees to either side of her. Up ahead, she saw a large tree she would have to avoid. As she was coming up to it, she intended to dodge to the left, but Ragnarok's presence warned her not to. Instead, she shifted her weight at the last moment and shot right. Just as she did, a large spear impacted the tree trunk where she would have been had she dodged on the left, grazing her left shoulder as it hit. She glanced behind her and saw five men had given chase. Sakaki considered her options. Kaorin probably wouldn't last long with her running the whole way, and she figured her odds against five were favorable, so long as she had the element of surprise. Quickly looking around, she found a tree with a hollowed out trunk, used by some animal during the winter. She gently hid the unconscious Kaorin in the hole, and went to hide behind another tree, allowing the bandits a glimpse at her to get them to go in the right direction. She pressed her back against the tree she hid behind, and silently drew her sword.

Sakaki heard the first man quickly approaching, and tensed her muscles. She waited for the split second he rounded the tree, and struck out with all her might. Her sword impacted just above knee height, and sheared off the man's legs below that point. He began to fall forward, the look of determination on his face quickly changing to shock and pain. Sakaki swung the sword up and stabbed downward into his back, ending his life before he even hit the ground. She removed her sword and held it with her left hand, taking out a javelin with her right. She only had three left now, so one more would die by her sword. She caught sight of another man, the one who had nearly hit her with his spear. He had another one at the ready. Sakaki waited for the right moment. He threw his spear, aimed at Sakaki's head. It closed the distance quickly. She dodged out of the way at the last moment, the spear missing her ear by less than an inch. She loosed her own weapon. Her opponent was not as lucky as she; her weapon impacted dead center where his neck connected with his torso. She saw a spout of blood as he fell backwards.

Sakaki quickly spotted the other three. They had grouped together, and were moving forward cautiously, having lost two comrades so quickly. They seemed to have lost sight of her. She would use that to her advantage. She sheathed the sword, and took the last two javelins out, one in each hand. She sprinted at the group, and leaped off a root that was sticking out of the ground. She attacked as she hit the ground, driving the Javelin in her right hand through the first man's neck. She hit the ground and rolled to one knee, stabbing the second man with her last javelin through the heart. She drew her sword, and swung it around her head in a horizontal slash at the man's neck. He brought his sword up to block the attack, but it was no use. Ragnarok sliced right _through _the man's sword without the attack losing any strength. His head hit the ground before his body did, a frozen look of terror forever to remain his expression. Sakaki exhaled deeply, and quietly waited to ensure no one else was following. After wiping the blood off her sword on one of the men's tunic, she sheathed it and went to find Kaorin.

* * *

Sakaki had been walking for what seemed like hours. Kaorin had woken up a few times, but not for more than a few minutes each time. It was dusk now, and they had just exited the forest. The river she was following had opened into an ocean. The fading sunlight combined with the cool ocean breeze had caused the temperature to drop quite a bit. Kaorin had started to shiver, so she put the sweater on her, which seemed to help. Still, Sakaki held her close as she walked; it would be bad if she caught a cold in this condition.

After her last fight with the five men who chased them, their travelling had been fairly uneventful. Sakaki still wasn't comfortable about killing those men, but believed it was for the best. Still, along the way, she had been forced to stop because of nausea, no doubt caused by the guilt of the killing. She had thrown up both times. _As long as it's not during battle,_ she thought. She had read in books that that sort of thing tended to happen when someone had never taken a life before.

Sakaki had found a berry bush along the way. Luckily, Kaorin had been awake at the time, and had managed to eat some with her. Other than that, they had had no other food. There was always a constant source of water though, the ocean was completely fresh water. As for Kaorin's wounds, with the help of Ragnarok's knowledge, she had managed to treat some of the smaller cuts with some plants they had found. Unfortunately, she could do no more than that. Some of the injuries were probably internal, and her elbows and shoulders seemed to be bruised pretty badly. And nothing she had done could bring her to consciousness, or keep her conscious for longer than a few minutes.

Sakaki herself was feeling quite exhausted. She hadn't had much time to rest since Kaorin was captured, and other than a few berries at the bunch she had found, she hadn't eaten since they arrived either. It was starting to get hard to keep her eyes open. Her arms were beyond tired. Carrying Kaorin was easy at first, she wasn't very heavy, but now she just felt like dead weight. Her arms felt like jelly. Even her legs were getting sore and tired.

Before long, she found herself walking along a beach at the edge of the ocean. Walking on the sand was tough with her legs exhausted; she stumbled a few times and nearly fell. It was starting to get dark; the sun had dropped below the horizon. That, added to her vision getting blurry due to exhaustion, made it even harder to stay on her feet. Up ahead she saw a flickering light, and beside it a large dark shadow, as if there was a building or something half in and half out of the water. Around the light, which she had identified as fire, she could see a large crowd of people. Sakaki's heart skipped a beat. Could the bandit's have overtaken her? Her fears were quenched when she saw a group of smaller people, too small to be the large and tough bandits, running towards her. There were five of them, and they looked familiar. Sakaki tripped over a discarded piece of wood and fell to her knees. She couldn't find the strength to stand back up, and could feel herself slipping out of consciousness. She gently set Kaorin down. Her last sight before she passed out from exhaustion was of her five friends running towards her, as if in a dream.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Everyone rejoice! Kaorin's saved! Hurrah!

Nothing much to say here. Just make sure to leave me reviews! You know how I like to hear your opinions!

Till next time!


	9. Chapter 8: Introductions

**A few opening words: **And we are back! Last we left them, Kagura, Chiyo, Yomi, Tomo, and Osaka had met up with Dedalus the pirate/member of the resistance. Sakaki had just saved Kaorin from a fate arguably worse than death (and probably death itself, too) and passed out from exhaustion upon meeting up with their friends. Now, without further delay, I give you the next chapter of Ragnarok: Sword of Legends.

Enjoy...

* * *

Sakaki slowly opened her eyes to a sandy beach and a peaceful sunrise. Oddly enough, she didn't feel tired or exhausted anymore. She checked herself over; she was wearing a plain white tunic, which fit pretty well, obviously made for a woman. She had no visible cuts or bruises. Then she remembered the gash the arrow had given her when she was running, and to her surprise, it had completely healed, leaving only the tiniest of scars where it had been.

Sakaki took in her surroundings. She had been laid on what seemed like a roll out futon. Her sword was in the sand beside her, still in its scabbard. She seemed to be on the edge of a large campsite, though there were no tents. Not far away, there was a rather large ship, which reminded her of the Roman Triremes she had read about in History class, only bigger. _That must've been the large building I thought I saw last night._ There were quite a few people milling around on the deck, and in the sand and water below. It seemed to have been beached, yet not stranded. There were a few campfires here and there around the campsite, and there were a few people gathered around the nearest one. Sakaki slung the sword over her shoulder and went over to join them. To her surprise, she was greeted by Kagura, Yomi, and Osaka, along with a pair of other people she didn't recognize. Kagura was the first to notice her.

"Hey guys, Sakaki's up!"

"Mornin', Sakaki-san!" Osaka called, before taking another bite of what looked like a loaf of bread. Yomi simply gave a little wave as Sakaki took a seat beside Kagura, who had a large green and silver shield slung over her back, with a sword hilt sticking up over the top. Yomi had a massive war hammer, and Osaka had only a small dagger. Sakaki figured there was no better time to ask.

"So, what's with all the weapons?"

"Oh, we got captured by pirates. Osaka learned she has telekinesis or something, and we broke out and killed the captain. Then some sort of civil war starts, and these guys win, and we became friends." Yomi chuckled.

"That's a summary and a half." Sakaki didn't bother prying further, she would find out the rest later.

"What about Kaorin? Is she alright?" Instead of the girls answering, the big black man answered.

"You friend is recovering from her wounds. Our healer is tending to her onboard our ship. You have no need to worry; she is very good at what she does."

"Well, good. But who are you?" Sakaki was beginning to get a little frustrated. She was eager to see how Kaorin was doing, and wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"I have explained it a little to your friends here, and they said you were their leader of sorts. I left the important information out, so I could tell you when you awoke. I am Dedalus, this woman here is Kaela. We are pirates, but also part of the Resistance, as is obvious by the language we speak now. She is my second in command." Sakaki took a moment to process this.

"So, the resistance, who are they."

"You do not know? You speak the language, and yet you have never heard of them?"

"No."

"This is... this is very interesting indeed. One moment, please." Dedalus leaned over, and whispered something in Kaela's ear. She nodded, and promptly stood up and left, heading for the ship. Dedalus returned his gaze to Sakaki.

"There is someone you need to speak to. He will be able to explain things far better than I can."

"And who is he?"

"His name is Pharnor. He studies the ancient texts; a historian, if you will, though he does have some experience with magic."

"So, where is he?"

"Therein lays the problem. He currently resides in the mountains, in Angenheim, the Resistance's base of operations. Kaela has been instructed to take you as far as Enwich, where you will meet up with other Resistance members. They will get you safely to Angenheim." Dedalus seemed to be in a hurry while explaining this.

"Um, okay. When are we leaving then?"

"As soon as you can. There is little time; the Resistance will be gathering soon, and they won't wait long in Enwich. In fact, I believe there are 3 days remaining until the assault."

"Alright, slow down. First, I don't know what the Resistance is. Second, I don't know what this _world _is. Third, you expect me to just follow your assistant to some town where she can hand us off to more strangers, who will take us to some place high in the mountains where we can finally have our questions answered? That's complete crap. Wouldn't it just be easier to tell us what you know?" Sakaki was almost yelling when she finished. Kagura seemed too shocked for words at her sudden outburst.

"In short, I do not know enough to explain. I would only confuse you further. All that I ask is that you follow Kaela's instructions along the way, and you will be fine."

"Fine, I'll go along with that. It's not as if we had anything planned anyway. Now, about my friend. Where is she?"

"She is up in the ship, as I had mentioned earlier. Ask for Ternil, she's our healer." Sakaki nodded her thanks, and swiftly turned to the ship. She noticed Tomo was waking up, as well as Chiyo. Kagura got up and followed Sakaki. She spoke as they walked.

"Sakaki, nice to have ya back. As you can see, we've been busy while you were gone. Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, what's with that sword of yours? We tried to move it last night, but anytime any of us touched it, we were shocked. And not some weak static shock either, it hurt like a bitch." Sakaki continued to walk, and thought about that. _Maybe it doesn't like others using it? Did it lock itself to me? _The swords presence came out of the back of her mind, and told her that this was true. It communicated loosely that she was the only one that could use it. Sakaki formed a response.

"I'm not sure, but it's some sort of magic. I guess it must've locked to me or something." Sakaki arrived at the rope ladder to the ship. "I'll be back shortly. Tell the others what we're going to do, and pack up I guess. Though, I doubt we'll be leaving anytime soon with Kaorin in that bad a condition." With that, Sakaki heaved herself up the ladder, in a hurry to see Kaorin. She reached the top, and was helped over the railing by a shorter man. She asked him about Ternil, and he pointed her in the direction of the captain's quarters. She hurried over there, and pushed the door open. Words couldn't describe how happy she was with the sight before her.

"Kaorin!" There, sitting upright on the captain's bed was Kaorin. She appeared to be fully awake, and other than a few bruises and a rather large scar on her forehead, she was fine, although still naked. She noticed Sakaki, and ran over to her.

"Sakaki-san!" Sakaki embraced her in a long hug. She let her go, and took a seat on the bed. Kaorin did the same.

"So how are you feeling Kaorin?"

"Fine, actually. I feel 100."

"How is that possible?"

"When I asked Ternil, she said 'Magic'. She gave me some foul tasting soup, which dealt with my hunger and exhaustion in no time. As for the cuts, I have no idea." Magic... Sakaki played the word over in her head. Could it truly be magic? Many things that didn't make sense seemed to fit when she used Magic as the answer. Maybe it _was _magic after all. Sakaki leaned over, and handed Kaorin the clothes that had been laid out for her; a white tunic and a knee length brown skirt. Kaorin seemed to become aware of her nudity all at once, and in a flash she was fully clothed. Ternil then entered the room from another door. She seemed odd, to say the least. She wore dark brown everything; a long sleeved shirt, and a dress that dragged on the floor. Her hair was long and black, and very messy. When she spoke, she spoke with a heavy accent.

"You can go, young girl. You are fine now." Kaorin stood up and bowed to Ternil.

"Thank you, Ternil-san."

"No need ta thank me, girl. Just doin' mah job." With that, she shooed the two girls out the door. Sakaki and Kaorin wasted no time climbing down off the ship. With their feet planted firmly on the sand, they began looking for their friends. It was tough; the camp had become incredibly busy. It seemed as though everyone had something to do. Then, Sakaki spotted their five friends standing on a small hill at the edge of camp with Dedalus and Kaela. They quickly joined them.

"About time you two joined us. We were about to leave without you." Kagura said. "Don't bother explaining, Dedalus told us how Kaorin was after you left." Before Sakaki spoke, she realized the girls all had their weapons strapped on, and a small pack in hand or over their shoulder. Kaela had a large bow slung over her back. It was black, with some silver highlights near the grip in the middle. With it, there was a quiver full of arrows, which were also black, apparently made of the same material. The bow looked to be at least as tall as Osaka. She was also holding a pair of bags, and something else she couldn't identify. Kaela approached them and handed Sakaki a small pack. She then handed Kaorin her own, an along with it, a small dagger, not unlike the ones Chiyo and Osaka carried.

"You will need it soon enough." Kaela said. She spoke quietly, and her demeanor seemed to tell Sakaki that she didn't talk often. Dedalus stepped forward and addressed the group.

"It looks like you are ready to go. Just stay with Kaela and follow her instructions and you will arrive safely and on time." He looked up at the sun. "Now, let us not waste any more time. Sakaki, maybe we will meet again in the future. Farewell girls!" He waved to them as he headed back into camp. The girls looked ahead, away from the camp, and saw Kaela already far ahead, waving them on.

"Damn she's fast," Kagura commented, as they all broke into a jog to catch up.

* * *

It was dusk now, and other than a short lunch break with food from their packs, the girls hadn't stopped once. The beach had long disappeared, replaced by grassy plains, and rolling hills. Sakaki had begun counting the hills they traversed when they had first started out, but she had stopped counting after two dozen. They were just now climbing up what seemed like the tallest of them all. Sakaki was now walking beside Kaela, who hadn't spoken a word since their lunch break. She looked up at the approaching crest of the hill, and for a moment she thought she could see light, from a fire. Kaela seemed to notice this as well, and as they crested the hill, she whipped out her longbow and notched an arrow. The hill turned out to be a plateau, and camped out on the plateau was the same band of bandits who had captured Kaorin. They spotted the girls as Kagura and the rest crested the hill. They all drew out their weapons, yet held back. Then, from the center of the group, a large man stepped forward, wielding a massive battle-axe. He was at least seven feet tall, far bigger and more muscular than any man she had ever seen.

Sakaki crouched into a fighting stance, and reached back to draw out Ragnarok, when she felt the sword already being taken out of the scabbard.

"I'll be borrowing this, if you don't mind." Beside her, Kaorin gripped the sword tightly; grimacing from the pain of the shocking Ragnarok was giving her. Nevertheless, the girl seemed determined not to let go, and the look of pain disappeared, as though the sword had given up, or decided to allow her to use it. She stepped forward in front of their group, and lowered the sword's point to the ground to her right. She raised her free left arm and pointed at the large man, as if she was issuing a challenge.

The large man let out a loud war cry, and the other bandits backed off, giving him his room. Upon finishing, he swung his axe around twice, and slammed it into the ground to his side. He waved Kaorin forward with a massive fist, and then took to his own fighting stance. Kaorin swung the sword up into both hands, and charged.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Oh noes! Cliffhanger! What's gonna happen next? Will Kaorin be the victor and get her revenge on the beast of a man, or will he increase his record to 2 – 0?

On a side note, I was trying to base Ternil's accent of Teadorma (spelling, the swamp lady) from Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Also, her character is a bit like that too.

Anyway, before I give away the whole next chapter, I'll just say this: stay tuned!

Till next time...


	10. Chapter 9: Payback

**A few opening words: **Alright, from here on in the story is likely going to get pretty violent. And, as a side effect of that, probably also pretty gory, where appropriate. Not like limbs flying everywhere gory, but, say, the movie Troy gory. I really don't know. But if you guys think it surpasses the current rating, let me know so I can bump it up (and not get in trouble). Anyway, that's that.

Enjoy…

* * *

Sakaki was about to charge in after Kaorin, even though she had no weapon, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Oddly enough, the hand belonged to Kaela.

"Kaela-san?"

"No. Let them fight. I believe there is some past rivalries at stake here." She removed her hand from Sakaki's shoulder, and quickly loosed an arrow. It hit its intended target nigh instantly, nearly over-penetrating one unfortunate bandit's skull as he made an attempt to get involved. Kaela quickly drew another arrow, and yelled out in their language something Sakaki didn't understand. Whatever it was though, the rest of the bandits held their ground, and simply watched their best fighter duke it out with a teenage girl. Sakaki looked around, and the rest of her friends were doing the same. Defeated, she watched the fight from the sidelines. She was surprised though, and almost scared of this new Kaorin. She seemed to have a fire in her eyes, a ferocious flame begging to be let loose. Sakaki wasn't sure what exactly it was, but she definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of it.

* * *

Kaorin held the sword close to her shoulder, point in the air. It was only a foot or so shorter than she was, and it was quite heavy, as to be expected. But she had summoned up strength she didn't know she had. Not that any of this went through her mind though. The only thing that did was one thought: _Win. _She charged straight at her opponent, waiting until the last moment to dodge as he brought his axe down in a powerful overhead strike. Kaorin dove sideways into a shoulder roll, and brought the sword around to swipe at the man's legs, but he seemed to have predicted the move, and blocked it with the handle of his axe. Now that he had leverage, he thrust the butt of the handle forward, right into Kaorin's chest. She was sent reeling back, but quickly balanced herself. Her opponent, who had been laughing mockingly up to this point, now put on a serious face. Kaorin launched off her right foot, and ducked under a horizontal swing, deflecting it upwards with the sword as she did so. With the sword raised above her head from the block, she was in the perfect position to attack. So she did just that. Kaorin managed two quick swipes across his chest before having to roll out of the way of another crushing blow.

Even though the bandit wore heavy armor, the ferocity of Kaorin's quick attack coupled with the godly edge of Ragnarok managed to penetrate the armor slightly. A small amount of blood could be seen in the cuts. This made the barbarian angry. He attacked without holding back, with far more speed and agility than anyone would've thought possible from a man of his stature. He swung his might axe from the left and right in vicious horizontal slices, changing where he was aiming each time. Kaorin was forced on the defensive, backing off with each dodge. She ducked under one attack, but was forced to quickly jump to avoid the next one aimed at her feet. She was getting frantic, as each blow came closer and closer to connecting. She was finally forced to deflect one blow over her head, and had to quickly bring the sword around to her other side to stop another. They held there for a moment, weapons locked in position at Kaorin's side, before the bandit pulled away, causing Kaorin to lose balance ever so slightly. He changed tactics and brought the axe down over his head. Kaorin tried to regain her footing, and held the sword up high to block. The blow was powerful, too strong for Kaorin to successfully block while off balance. She was knocked onto her back, the sword falling a few feet behind her. She panicked, and tried to crawl backwards. The barbarian saw his chance, and raised the axe far over his head for one final, crushing blow.

Kaorin froze; she didn't know what to do. But then, just as the axe came down, her instincts took over. It was as if the warrior within her sprang forth and took over. She shoved hard with her legs and did a backwards summersault, just barely missing the axe's blade. She grabbed Ragnarok as she rolled by, ending in a crouch. She could see the axe was somewhat lodged in the ground, though it wouldn't stay there for long. She leapt forward, planted one foot on the axe's handle just below the blade, and launched herself into the air. Time slowed as she brought the sword up in mid air, much to the surprise and astonishment of her opponent. With a mighty yell, she swung with all her might.

Kaorin landed a few feet behind the barbarian. His head hit the ground beside her. The headless body stood there for a moment, blood pouring from where its head should have been, before it fell to the ground. You could've heard a pin drop. All that was heard was Kaorin's exhausted breathing. She was almost leaning over on the sword. She summoned up what little strength she had left, and faced the remaining bandits. She raised the sword and pointed it right at them. She didn't know their language, nor did she speak. The glare she gave them spoke volumes. It was a mix of anger, ferocity, and sheer determination, a look that would strike fear into even the most courageous of warriors. This was underscored by the fact that her face was also half covered in her foe's blood. The remaining bandits stood stock still for a moment, taking in what had just happened. They looked from the headless corpse of their best fighter to the ferocious looking Kaorin, who had a bloody sword pointed directly at them. It didn't take them long to make up their minds. All but two turned and fled, their former friends abandoned. The two who stayed to fight were quickly felled by Kaela's arrows, each shot between the eyes.

Kaorin dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. She was completely exhausted from her feat. Kaela strode over to her, and leaned over enough so that she could speak and only have Kaorin hear.

"I see my faith in you was well placed. Well done, Kaori."

Kaorin managed a weak smile, and only realized Kaela had called her by her real name much later. Sakaki came over and took the sword off her hands, cleaning it on the grass in the process. Sakaki stood back, and looked Kaorin over. Realizing that her friend was far too exhausted t walk, she crouched down in front of her.

"Sakaki-san. What are you-"

"Hop on."

"What?"

"Hop on." She repeated. Kaorin then caught on. She struggled up, and leaned on Sakaki's back, resting her head on Sakaki's shoulder, opposite the hilt of Ragnarok. Sakaki stood up, holding Kaorin's legs with her arms. Kaorin marveled at her friend's strength. She picked her up as if she were nothing.

"Comfortable, Kaorin?"

"Oh… oh, yes! Thank you very much, Sakaki-san."

"It's nothing." Sakaki carried Kaorin in this manner for the rest of their travelling that day. Not ten minutes after picking the girl up, she had fallen fast asleep against her shoulder.

* * *

Kaorin awoke to the gentle warmth of a sunrise feeling almost completely refreshed. She took a moment to look around, and found herself riding piggy-back on Sakaki.

"Wha…? Sakaki-san? Why are you carrying me?"

"Don't you remember yesterday?"

"Yesterday?" Kaorin thought back for a moment; most of yesterday was clouded, and she couldn't remember much. She concentrated, and remembered they had had some sort of encounter with a group of bandits. But that was all she could put together. "Did something happen with bandits or something?"

"So Kaela was right. Kaorin; you fought the biggest of them, _and won._"

"I WHAT?"

"Yes. You took my sword, ignoring the shock it gives everyone who isn't me, and fought. You fought well too."

"You're not kidding... So I won a fight against a bandit?"

"Not just any bandit either; these were the ones who captured you." A brief series of images flashed through her head, particularly one depicting the fight she was forced into against that beast of a man. "Oh my god… I fought the man who nearly beat me to death…"

"Not only fought Kaorin; you killed him. Quickly too, I might add."

"Rehhh?!" Kaorin reared back in surprise, almost causing Sakaki to drop her. "I _killed _him? How? And why don't I remember this?"

"You beheaded him. Kaela said you might not remember much; something about 'the warrior inside you taking over'. I'm not really sure what she meant, but it made sense at the time. You also scared off the rest of them."

"I… beheaded… oh god…" Kaorin fought the urge to vomit. She was fairly successful, managing to only throw up a bit in her mouth. She whimpered, and put her face against Sakaki's back. Sakaki reached back and rubbed her back as she cried.

"Let it out, Kaorin. Kaela said that almost everyone goes through this sort of thing when they first take a life." She paused. "She also said that it would be good to let it _all _out, that we should get used to it." Kaorin held back tears for a moment to question why. "I don't know myself, but I hope she is exaggerating. But from what we've seen so far, this world seems to be suffering. From what though, I don't know…"

* * *

"Well girls, there it is, the city of Enwich." The girls let out a combination of 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs', except for Sakaki. They were standing atop the last hill they had to traverse before arriving in town. Kaorin was walking on her own, having recovered somewhat. "I don't quite know what to expect there right now; these are trying times. This city is the largest port in Archaea, and houses the Royal Navy, so we must be careful. Don't trust any Altairian you see." Kagura was the first to ask the questions that came up in everyone's mind.

"Two things, three actually. What's Archaea, who are the Altarians, and why do we have to be careful?"

"I can't tell you much; we don't have the time. Archaea is the name of this whole land, and the Altairians are foreigners, who also make up the entire army, including the city guard. They're easy to spot; they stand at an average height of about 8 feet." Kagura swore under her breath; none of the girls had ever heard of anyone that big.

"As for the rest, you'll have to trust me, and do as I say. First of all, don't speak to _anyone_. You only know the language of the resistance, and it would be _very _bad if anyone other than our friends found that out. Second; Sakaki, take this and cover up the hilt of your sword." Confused, Sakaki took the rage and wrapped it around the hilt of the sword. "All will be explained in due time. The rest of you won't have to worry about your weapons. You are allowed by law to carry them, just keep them sheathed. You will be either arrested or attacked if you are seen in town with a bare blade. Now, follow me."

As Kaela led the girls down the hill, and onto a dirt path, Sakaki marveled at the city. It was nowhere near the size of Tokyo of course, but it was impressive nonetheless. The architecture was clearly that of the Middle Ages, but with some differences in style. Most of the buildings were a pale white color, with brown support beams and such, probably made of wood. The entire city was also surrounded by a large defensive wall, probably standing at least 15 feet high from what she could see. Guard towers were spaced evenly along its length, doubled up near a gate. Out at sea, she could see several massive ships in the water. She quickly spotted the masts of many in the city's harbor area. Judging by the sheer height of the masts she could tell they had to be at least two to three times bigger than Dedalus' ship, the Vanguard. They were probably at least five or six stories tall, compared to the buildings, and some had up to five main masts. Upon closer inspection of the harbor, she could see many smaller ships as well. Judging by the number of masts she could see, there had to be dozens, no, hundreds of ships in the harbor. _What have we gotten ourselves into…_

* * *

**Author's notes: **And the girls get their first glimpse of civilization in this new world (or at least, the first glimpse that didn't lead to a fight). More on the subject of Altarians, Archaea, and the Resistance will be revealed later, don't worry. And yes, Kaorin is badass. I promised she'd get her revenge didn't I?

As for the ships, Dedalus' is called the Vanguard. It is for all purposes a Roman Trireme, but without oars. It also has three masts, a small command deck, and is armed with a Trebuchet and multiple Ballistae. It can hold its own in battle. The huge ships Sakaki saw were the pride of the Royal navy, the Juggernauts. There are only a dozen of them. They are roughly three times the size of the Vanguard, have five masts, and have six decks (so, the hull is over 6 stories high). It has gun ports lining the sides, though they aren't filled with cannons. This world's cannons are Ballistae. So, it has a crap-load of them. It also has numerous catapults and trebuchets along the top deck. They are basically one-ship navies, and can even run over smaller ships, like the Vanguard, and receive little damage, thanks to their re-enforced hulls.

Anyway, there your fun-fact for today. If you don't know what some of the weapons are, wiki them. Every time something new is introduced, I will usually give a brief description in here. Except for cities. I leave those somewhat to your imagination, with a few guidelines. I'm bad at describing cities. Also, I have a sort of question for you, the readers.

In addition to brief descriptions of objects or events, I could also do character profiles for the new characters, like Kaela or Ternil. That is, if you guys want them. Let me know what you think of this in a review.

Anyhow, that's about all I have to say! Till next time, readers!


	11. Character Profile: Kaela Kotone

**Name: **Kaela Kotone

**Age: **26

**Gender: **Female, duh

**Weapons: **A longbow made of an unknown black composite. Completely black except for silver ornamentation near the grip and at the ends. Quiver and arrows made of the same material. Arrows have Obsidian arrowheads, and the tails are made of Peregrin feathers (creature to be explained later). The quiver has an enchantment in which it will never run out of arrows. Kaela also carries a small dagger.

**Appearance: **Kaela stands about an inch taller than Kagura. She has straight black hair that falls down to just above her shoulders. Has dark blue eyes. She has a slender, athletic body, though less proportioned than Kagura. She wears tight-fitting black leather armor. Though it doesn't offer her the best protection, it allows her more freedom to move, suiting her style of combat (I'll let you imagine the armor yourselves, until I brush up on my manga drawing and post a pic or two that is. It'll be a while though).

**Skills/Preferred Combat: **Kaela is an extremely competent archer, being able to score a bulls-eye under almost any condition, be it running, falling, or under fire herself. No matter the rate at which she fires, nor the situation, her accuracy is dead on. There isn't another in her land whose skills rival hers. In close combat, she fights hand to hand with an 8" dagger, utilizing speed and agility as opposed to strength. In certain situations, she will even use her bow as a weapon in close range combat. As such, Kaela is an expert at using her surroundings to her advantage. Being an archer, she is adept at camouflage and stealth, able to remain hidden until she wishes to be found.

**Biography/History: **As a child she was raised on a farm and taught the many things required to live off the land, such as cultivating the land, growing vegetables and fruit, making bread, and hunting. It was her first time hunting when she discovered a passion for archery. She practiced for years in her free time, with only a home made bow and arrows to use, and eventually became quite skilled. At the age of 13, she attended an archery competition at the city of Agamar, one of the most famous in the area. With only her shoddy bow, Kaela managed to outscore the best in the land, and win the tournament. She turned down the cash prize however, and had it given to the city's poorest citizens, for she still wished to live off the land with her family.

A few years passed, and when she was 16, as per a deal with her parents, she left home to travel. Before Kaela left though, her parents gave her her most cherished gift; the bow and arrow she still uses today. With fond memories of home, and a beautifully crafted bow to call her own, she set out and traveled to the North-east, in the direction of the hills and mountains that lay to the North of Archaea.

Kaela traveled deep into the mountains for two years, until she grew tired and decided to return home. Upon returning to the foothills however, she was besieged by a group of barbarians, scoundrels who preyed on lone travelers. Before it was too late, she was saved by a small band of pirates, lead by Dedalus. He was the first to tell her the news of the land she called home. During the two years she had traveled, the Altairians had shipped over from another land and taken control. They ruled with tyranny, and killed all those who opposed them. The barbarians she had been attacked by were examples of the deterioration of the once great land of Archaea.

Fearing for her family, and against her better judgment, Kalea set off in search of her family. She was met with only grief and despair, for she found her home burned to the ground, her parents crucified on stakes for opposing the new emperor. Filled with vengeance, she joined the newly formed Resistance, and played a major part in the attempting to overthrow the Altairians. At the age of 24 Kaela was reunited with Dedalus, the one who had saved her in the beginning. He was only the captain of a small pirate ship called the Kestrel at the time, operating for the Resistance. For two years she sailed with him, sabotaging many shipments of supplies going to the Altairan armies, instead putting them to use aiding those who were fighting their rule. About 3 months before meeting Sakaki and the gang, their ship, the Kestrel, was attacked by a larger pirate vessel, operating on its own. For 3 months what was left of Dedalus' crew served aboard the new ship, waiting for the time to strike. When Kagura, Chiyo, Osaka, Yomi, and Tomo were captured, and eventually escaped, it was then that they struck and took the ship as their own, christening it the Vanguard.

-----

**Author's notes: **Alright, this is how I plan on doing all of the character profiles, so get used to it. They will be posted on their own as sort of interludes between chapters, usually right before or after the character has been introduced.

Anyway, the reason I am posting this now is because I want to give you guys something to tide you over for a while, as I may not be able to get on and post the next chapter or two for a few days, for various reasons.

As I said before, when I add the next chapter, I will bump the story up to M rated. Also, heres a bit of a preview/teaser thingy...

Drama, action, suspense and intrigue all rolled into one! The girls, now reunited travel onward to Enwich. Events will be set in motion, new allies will be made and others lost. All this coming up soon in the next chapter of Ragnarok: Sword of Legends

(God I suck at writing those. Also, depending on how I feel, or if I remember, there may be a surprise to be revealed after the next chapter. Not one about the events in the story, but about the story itself and the future of the fanfic...)


	12. Chapter 10: Enwich

**A few opening words: **Alright, I've decided to hold off on the M rating. For now, it'll stay as T, and it probably won't end up going up. After rethinking it, I realised that the T rating is pretty flexible, at least when it comes to games, movies, and the like. But in the future chapters it may change.

Anyway, as you may find apparent in this chapter, Kaorin is gonna eventually be one of my few MAIN main characters. All 7 girls, plus a few others will be main characters; I will generally be focusing on only a few, from their points of view. I will switch through the others' in certain contextual places, but, well, I'll let you find out. Oh, and I have plans for this storyline too, plans which those of you who like this will like. But I won't reveal them just yet. No, you'll have to wait…

And one more thing. I am working on my drawing skills, particularly anime style, and I find I am getting quite good. Eventually, I may even put up a few pics of the new characters introduced in the story, once I refine them (and if interest is high enough). Don't expect anything for a long while though, I have lots else to do first.

Anyway, enjoy…

* * *

Enwich was breathtaking. From the hilltop it had looked impressive, but up close it was truly a sight to behold. The stone walls that surrounded the city stood 15 feet high, just as Sakaki had guessed. The guard towers had to be at least double that; making perfect sniping perches for archers. The group entered through the east gate, which like all the others was open to public traffic. The gates themselves were probably 10 feet tall, and each door had to weigh at least a ton. They appeared to be made of a thick hardwood, re-enforced with thick metal bars. Guarding the gates was a trio of incredibly tall beings, who fit the description of Altairians. To say that they were tough looking would be an understatement. The three of them stood at least 9 feet tall, and looked slender, but not thin, a born fighter's body. They wore identical armor; shiny silver plating with red underclothing, and a large gold crest emblazoned in the center of the cuirass, probably the royal emblem. At their sides was a sheathed sword. They rivaled Ragnarok in size, but Sakaki figured the Altairians would only need one hand to wield them. The guards gave them a once-over as they passed by, as they did everyone else. 

Kaela led the girls through a market area, which turned out to be quite busy. Crowds of people milled about, buying and trading all manners of items in the shops and stalls that lined the streets. The more expensive items seemed to be displayed in the stores, whereas the cheaper and more plentiful were in stalls and carts. As the girls passed through the market, they admired the many different items and commodities on display. There were carts with assortments of meats, bread, and all kinds of fruit, most of which they had never seen before. Kagura largely ignored these stores, as did Tomo. The two were more interested in the stores that displayed various weapons and armors. One store in particular had a variety of maces and flails, the kind you wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of.

Sakaki on the other hand admired the many carts of jewelry, and the odd stall that contained crude yet cute hand-made dolls and stuffed animals. Kaorin stuck close to Kaela as she led them through the crowd, taking an interest in everything in general. Yomi was busy drooling over the many desert stalls they passed. Chiyo and Osaka brought up the rear. Chiyo was simply in awe over the place, whereas Osaka was using her newfound telekinetic abilities to move Chiyo's pigtails around. It annoyed Chiyo for a while, but she had managed to get used to it.

Before long, and much to the girls' dismay, the pleasant market district was quickly replaced by what looked like the slums. The buildings were falling apart, and there was trash littering the streets. Kaela noticed their pained expressions.

"Revolting, isn't it? It's much worse elsewhere in the land." Kaela said. She led them deeper into the poor neighborhood, finally coming to a stop outside what looked like an old tavern, though the sign had long ago fallen off.

"We're here." Kaela knocked on the door three times, waited, then knocked twice more. The door opened, and a rough looking man in tattered clothing blocked the doorway. Kaela reached into one of the many pouches on her belt and took out a small circular badge, with a simple symbol etched into it, similar to those on the blade of Ragnarok. The man took a quick look at it, and ushered the group inside, closing and barring the door behind them.

Inside, the building was almost completely empty, save for a single table and chair near the door, with a single lit candle on top. The room wasn't well lit either, the one candle being the only source of light. The man led them to a spot in the center of the room, and then removed several of the wooden floorboards, revealing a passage beneath. It was a fairly small hole, roughly two feet in diameter, and had a flimsy looking ladder on one side. Kaela motioned for Sakaki to head down first. The tall girl sighed, and headed for the hole. _Dedalus said to trust her, and she seems to know what she's doing, _she thought. Without any argument, Sakaki lowered herself into the hole. Kaorin climbed down next, followed by Kagura, Tomo, Yomi, Chiyo, and Osaka. Kaela brought up the rear, and the man replaced the floorboards behind her.

The tunnel resembled an old mine shaft. It would have been pitch black if not for the torches lining the walls. Kaela made sure they were all accounted for, and headed down the tunnel. Chiyo seemed hesitant at first, but with a little encouragement in the form of a telekinetic shove from Osaka, she followed. A short walk later, and the tunnel opened up into a larger cavern, which had been dug in the shape of an auditorium, with the floor angled towards the 'front' where the tunnel connected. Logs were arranged like seats in a theatre all the way to the back, where there was another three tunnels. Occupying the room was 40 men and women, with varying amounts of armor and weaponry, all presumably members of the Resistance. When they caught sight of the girls, all conversation stopped. Kaela led the girls to the center of the 'stage' area at the front of the room, and addressed the crowd.

"Good, you're all here. I am sorry you had to be called on such short notice, but due to recent events, our plans have been bumped up to today. You are all probably wondering why I am here in Dedalus' place. He is relaying the news I am to reveal to you to the leaders in Angenheim."

"Well, what's this 'news' you mean to tell us? Get on with it!" One of the men in the back row yelled, seemingly impatient. Kaela turned to Sakaki, and spoke so only she could hear.

"Sakaki, show them the sword." She stepped aside, allowing Sakaki to take center stage. Sakaki pulled off the loosely tied cloth from the sword's hilt, and pulled it out of the scabbard. She held it high with one hand for all the crowd to see. The light from the torches reflected off the blade, giving it an ominous orange glow, as if it were on fire. All at once there was a sharp intake of breath from the crowd, before they broke out into frantic conversation amongst themselves. Kalea stepped forward once more, standing beside Sakaki, who had lowered the Ragnarok to her side.

"I doubt I need to explain further. The girls you see here behind me are her companions, and are to be treated with the same respect you would give her," she said, motioning to Sakaki at the end. "The army has been assembled and awaits my signal. I know it's early, but we cannot delay any longer. It's either now or risk the Emperor getting his hands on it." She looked around, letting this sink in. "Prepare yourselves. We move in one hour." All at once the room broke into a hive of activity. Sakaki pulled Kaela aside.

"Kaela-san, I have some questions I want answered."

"We don't have time."

"There is time." Sakaki looked her in the eyes. Kalea sighed, and leaned against the wall.

"Be quick."

"Thank you. First, who is the Emperor, and why are you against him?"

"The Emperor, Malacath, is the leader of the Altairians, a war-hungry people who hail from across the sea. For his own reasons, he shipped over with his army and took the throne here in Archaea by force, killing those who openly opposed him. Those who didn't wish to die had no choice but to give in to his rule. His army now consists mainly of conscripts, brainwashed into fighting for him. The run-down area of the city we are in is an example of his tyranny; crime and violence plague the streets and the guards are the ones that provoke it! He rules for his own gain, and no one else's." Sakaki took a moment to let this sink in. Now she somewhat understood.

"So this Resistance is what's left of the old kingdom?"

"Yes. It was formed by the past king's three closest advisors. Many have joined our cause, but not enough to wage open warfare, so we must resort to subterfuge and underhanded tactics until we can. We operate from Angenheim, an ancient city high in the southern mountains, where I will be taking you."

"What about the language? Why can we not speak in public?"

"The language we speak now is that of the

Old Kingdom. The Altairians forced theirs on the land, and now only the Resistance uses the language."

"I have one last question. Just tell me what is going to happen here and now?" Kaela seemed to be getting impatient.

"The people you see before you are all members of the resistance, most of them high ranking. A small army has been assembled to stage a diversionary attack on Enwich, in order to allow them a chance to escape, along with us. They await my signal." Her curiosity satiated, Sakaki bowed.

"Thank you. That is all I wish to ask for now."

"Good. Make sure your friends are ready; we will be moving out shortly." Sakaki was confused, hadn't she said they had an hour?

"I thought you gave them an hour?"

"An hour to get into position, yes." She pointed to the three passages at the end of the room. "They will split into two groups and each take a different route out of the city. I will take you and your friends down the third passage." The two groups headed down their respective tunnels. "If all goes as planned, they will be ready when we are. Join me when you are ready," she said, and left to wait by the last tunnel.

"Well, what's the deal, Sakaki?" Kagura asked.

"You all heard what she said, correct?" The girls nodded. Kaela had spoken loud enough for them to hear. "Then we will follow her. From the looks of things, we don't have a choice." The girls nodded grimly. None of them wanted to fight, and possibly kill, but what else could they do? In this situation, it was kill or be killed. Sakaki could tell her friends were ready, and with them at her side, she approached Kaela.

"We're ready."

"Good. Follow me." Kaela led the group down the passage, not bothering to douse the torches in the room. As they walked, she gave them a brief overview of what they were to do.

"When we get into the city, it may be dangerous. So, should we get into any combat, we will stay in pairs, each partner protecting the other's back, or, in your case Sakaki, simply protecting the other."

"Hmm?" Sakaki looked up, confused.

"You're probably the most capable fighter of your group, so you'll be paired with Chiyo. Ayumu, you'll be with Kagura, and Tomo, you're with Koyomi. Kaori, you will be with me." Kaela was silent for a moment to hear any objections, of which there were none. "Good. Let's move out." The girls fell into line behind Kaela, and followed her into the tunnel in silence.

* * *

Kaela climbed to the top of the ladder and removed the floorboards above. She took a quick look around the empty room and climbed up. Keeping silent, she helped the girls up one by one. It had taken all of a half an hour to traverse the length of the tunnel, most of which was spent in silence as they mentally prepared themselves for any combat, and even killing, they may encounter. 

Kaorin was the last to climb up the ladder, and once she was up Kaela replaced the floorboards and took a look around the room. It was almost an exact copy of the one they had entered through. It was completely empty, and the only source of light was a small hole in the roof. Kaela did a lap of the room, peering through the cracks in the boards used to cover up the windows, ensuring the coast was clear. Satisfied, she took out a special arrow from her quiver and notched. The arrowhead was replaced by a small wad of cloth soaked in an odd black paste, which also covered half the shaft. She also took out a small black stone out of one of her many pouches. Using it, she struck the shaft of the arrow where the paste began, and it instantly caught on fire. It burned slow like a fuse. She notched the arrow, and fired it expertly through the hole in the roof. The paste slowly burned away, and by the time the arrow reached the peak of its flight, the fire had reached the wad of cloth, which instantly burst into flames with a bright flash, much like a flare. The girls had to look away it was so bright.

"Quiet, and wait for the signal," Kaela said in a whisper. Kagura was about to speak but Kaela silenced her with a raised hand. One second passed, then ten, then a whole minute. Finally, she heard the sound she was waiting for. It was a faint yell, the battle-cry of a small army off in the distance.

"That's our signal. Stick with your partner and follow me." Kaela held her bow at the ready, but with no arrow yet. It would be bad to draw unneeded attention. She unbarred the door and opened it a crack. Peering out, she checked one direction, then the next, before stepping out into the alley. Kaela checked both directions again and came to a conclusion. She notched an arrow and waved the girls forward.

"Something's wrong," Kaela said, motioning to the streets at either end of the alley. "There's no people out." Just then, they heard a faint yell, this one a lot closer than the battle-cry, followed by a clash of steel against steel. "It's one of the other groups; they must have run into trouble." She heard a second clash of swords, this one in the other direction. "Our cover's been blown, they know we're here. Keep your weapons ready and move _quickly_."

The girls nodded grimly, and took out their weapons, all save for Chiyo and Osaka, who would do more harm than good in a fight. Kaela surged ahead, with the girls right behind her. She led them through a series of alleyways, pausing at each corner to make sure it was clear. She avoided taking the streets where possible. So far they hadn't run into trouble, though Kaela could hear the enemy pursuing them not far behind. They rounded another corner, and Kaela came to a stop. Ahead of them lay a small canal, probably 10 feet wide, with a neglected old wooden bridge the only visible means of traversing it. The worst part was the fact that the canal was wide out in the open. Kalea searched either direction for another way, but to no avail. She was about to announce that they turn back and find another way when she heard a gruff yell from behind the group, followed by the ring of a pair of swords being drawn. Kaela spun and fired two arrows in quick succession as the girls ducked out of the way. A moment later, two dead city guards hit the ground, an arrow in each of their throats. That provided her with an answer to the dilemma, though it wasn't one she liked.

"We cross the bridge. When you reach the other side, get into the alley and stay under cover. Sakaki, you first. Cover the alleyway in case any guards come. Kill any that show up. You cannot let any live, regardless of the situation, or they will alert more." Sakaki nodded grimly, and with Chiyo at her side, she stepped towards the bridge. As she did, a flurry of burning arrows impacted the side of the bridge, causing the two girls to jump back in alarm. The dry rotten wood caught fire instantly, and in mere seconds the whole bridge was ablaze.

"There's no time! Go!" Kalea shoved Sakaki forward, and fired off a trio of shots in the direction the fire-arrows had come from. She was rewarded with a cry of pain from the rooftops above. Chiyo was hesitant about crossing the burning bridge, so, as to not waste time, Sakaki picked her up by the waist and dashed across, much to Chiyo's dismay. Kagura and Osaka ran across next, followed by Yomi and Tomo. Kaorin took her run at it, and just as she stepped onto the bridge, Kalea lunged forward and forcefully pulled her back. Just as she did so, the bridge gave way, collapsing into the water where Kaorin had been standing a moment ago. Kaela picked herself up and pulled Kaorin to her feet. Kaela yelled instructions to the girls who had managed to cross.

"Sakaki! Follow the alley to the western wall. There'll be a side door not far from here; use it and exit the city. Head straight for the forest when you get out. There should be a group of Resistance members there waiting for you; show them the sword and they'll help you!"

"What about you two?" Sakaki called back.

"We'll find another way and meet up with you in the forest! Go now, before they catch up to you!" Kaela grabbed Kaorin by the arm to get her moving, and led her down the side of the canal and into another alley. Kaorin ran as fast as she could, though Kaela had to slow her pace a bit to allow the girl to keep up. They passed through an intersection, and as they did, Kaela saw something out of the corner of her eye.

"Down!" she yelled as she spun around, notching an arrow in the process. Kaorin threw herself to the ground just as a trio of arrows sliced through the air where she had been a moment ago. Behind her lay three more dead guards, all killed by a single arrow fired by Kaela. Kaorin couldn't help but be amazed.

For a moment, Kaela wondered why no Altairian guards had come after them, but thanked her luck that they hadn't. She waved Kaorin up and continued down the alley. She hadn't more than a few steps when she heard a frantic yell from behind her.

"Kaela-san! Look out!" Kaela knew what was about to happen before she felt it. She had made the mistake of assuming the way was clear before making sure every approach was accounted for. She let out a pained grunt as an arrow pierced her right shoulder. She stumbled forward, but managed turn and steady herself quickly in a kneeling position. She fired off an arrow at her assailant, and a single dead guard fell off the rooftops. The way was clear, at least for now. Kaela dropped her bow, and reached back with her right arm. With one pull, she yanked the arrow out of the back of her shoulder, a sharp intake of breath proving the pain was excruciating. She steadied herself against the wall as Kaorin ran to her side. Her right arm was now almost numb with pain, moving it caused pain to lance up her arm. The bow was now useless to her. She looked over her shoulder at the wound; it was as she feared. The arrowhead had broken off in her shoulder, and the gash was bleeding freely. She was already beginning to feel a little light-headed from blood loss. Kaela closed her eyes and made a decision; she knew what was at stake, and what needed to be done.

"Kaori, go on without me. The wall isn't…isn't far from here," she spoke through clenched teeth in short breaths. Kaela shrugged off her quiver and handed it, along with the bow to Kaori, who took them hesitantly.

"Take them, they're of no use to me now."

"B-but I don't know how-"

"Trust your instincts; You will find you know more than you think."

"But I don't know the way!"

"Let your spirit guide you. Now, go! The guards will catch up before long!" Kaorin was on the verge of tears, and seemed frozen in place. Kaela shoved her with her good arm, and stood up, still leaning against the wall for support.

"Go, Kaori! You cannot die here! I'll make sure they don't catch up!" Kaorin steadied locked eyes with Kaela for a moment, and understood. She pushed aside her feelings and ran. "Good luck, Kaori Aida."

* * *

**Author's notes:** Um…uh…yeah. Normally I say stuff here and whatnot, but I can't think of anything. Oh well. No treats or anything for you this time. Some surprises to look forward to next chapter, and the one after that. 

Next for a character profile is Dedalus, so you know what to look forward to in the future. Also, in addition to the characters, if you guys want history/information on anything else, like a city, a ship, a race, a weapon (specific/unique, like Yomi's hammer for example), then let me know in a review and I'll see what I can do about it. The more ideas I have to work with, the faster I work. Plus, I like giving things history. It gives them a sort of personality, and makes them seem worthwhile even though whatever it is may only be a city or object with minor influence to the actual story.

Anyway, that got a bit wordy. Basically, if you want details on anything, let me know.

Till next time!


	13. Chapter 11: Last Acts

**A few opening words: ** Before I get started, this chapter will be entirely in Kaela's point of view. As such, it may not be that long a chapter, compared to the previous one. Oh and in case you miss it, there is a chapter before this one that I put up a few hours before. Make sure you read it or you may be thoroughly confused.

Anyway, enjoy…

* * *

Kaela watched as Kaorin ran off down the alley, taking the first left turn she came to. Kaela then turned herself around on the wall to free her left arm. She had to get the arrowhead out if she was going to even move her right arm. She used her dagger to slice off a small strip of leather from one of the straps on her armor and bit down on it. Kaela steadied her breathing as she reached back to the wound. She gently fingered the tender edges, getting a feel for its size and shape. Once sure of that, she took a deep breath and bit down hard on the leather strap. At the same time, she pushed her fingers into the wound and felt around for the broken arrowhead. Quickly finding it, she got as best a grip as she could and pulled it out in one tug. The pain was blinding, and she let out a piercing scream against her will, the leather strap forgotten. _Well, at least they'll come after me for sure now, _she thought.

Kaela kneeled there on the ground for a moment to catch her breath and test her arm. She could move it, but it caused her a lot of pain to do so. As she moved it around though, she began to notice that the pain was slowly becoming less fierce, being replaced by numbness. Confused, she picked up the bloody arrowhead and inspected it. It was the usual shape, but as she looked closer, Kaela noticed it had a fine glazing on it beneath the blood. It had been poisoned, and she knew the poison well. It wasn't made to kill, but to dull the senses and induce numbness in the victims muscle tissue. It effectively paralyzed the victim within 10 to 15 minutes. Though, since her wound was rather large and didn't seem to want to stop bleeding, Kaela figured she'd probably die of blood loss before that happened. The complete paralysis wasn't her problem, it was her arm. The poison affected the limbs nearest the wound first, and that meant her arm would be completely useless in a matter of minutes, which would be bad.

Kaela then heard a few shouts from around the corner. She had maybe half a minute before the guards arrived. Using the dagger again, she cut off a piece of fabric from her clothing beneath the armor and tied it tightly around her right shoulder, in the hopes that it would slow the bleeding. It did somewhat, instead causing it to throb more under the pressure. Kaela flexed her arm. It still hurt, a lot, but she could move it. She moved over to the fallen guard and took out his sword – a long sword – and hefted it in her right hand. The weight caused her arm to ache, but with combat not far away, she forced the pain to the back of her mind. She had more important things to think about now. Though, Kaela did switch to a two handed stance. Even though she could deal with the pain, she was slowly losing the use of her arm, and would quickly lose grip of the sword. It was a good thing she was skilled at using either hand in combat, as well as both in the two-handed stance.

Kaela waited, and heard the sounds of armored boots approaching the corner she was standing less than 10 feet away from. She waited until they were close enough, and then dove forward, just as the first man rounded the corner. He had his sword arm out in front of him, which was probably a good idea, had Kaela not expected it. She brought her sword down on his forearm in a two-handed chop, severing it near the wrist. Hand and sword hit the ground as the bewildered man stumbled backward into his comrades, of which there were six. Kaela spun and lashed out, slashing him across the throat before he could scream. By now, the rest of the guards clued into what was happening, and had their swords at the ready. The first man rushed Kaela, in an attempt to stab her. She whacked his sword away and quickly stabbed him in return. She pulled her sword out of the man's torso just in time to meet the third guard's overhand chop mid-swing. They locked blades briefly before Kaela knocked his blade away with a flick of her own. He was now wide open to attack, and Kaela took the opportunity head on, lopping off his sword arm at the shoulder before running him through as she had done the other soldier.

Kaela stepped back and awaited the next attack. She noticed her breathing was becoming more labored, and her muscles were beginning to ache. Her right arm was now almost completely numb, and she switched the sword over to her left arm, letting her right fall limply at her side. She pointed the sword at the nearest guard, proving she was still capable of fighting. He shied away, and as he did a taller man appeared behind the group, dressed in more decorated armor than the others; armor that had been custom made. When he spoke, he spoke not in the language of the Altairians, but in her own, the language of the old Kingdom.

"Well if it isn't the elusive Kaela Kotone. I must say you have been a regular pain in the Emperor's ass for quite a long time." Kaela looked him over, confused. He looked familiar somehow. Then it hit her; the man who had let them into the Resistance's underground hideout. He had been working with the Altairians the whole time, and she didn't even notice! He must have been the one to tip off the guards!

"You! You betrayed us!"

"Why yes, I did. Though, I can't claim all the credit, I had some help from others. Your little 'Resistance' is a lot less secure than you think." Kaela stared him down as he grinned maliciously.

"Who else is there?"

"Now why would I tell you that? Granted, you won't be around for much longer, but it would take the fun out of this whole situation, wouldn't it? Now your little friends, oh, they'll find out soon enough." He was about to continue, but Kaela cut him off by rushing him with her sword raised. He was no Altairian, but he was huge in his own right. He was quick as well, faster than one would expect from his size. No, it wasn't him that was fast, it was that Kaela was getting slower. She was beginning to lose feeling in the rest of her body; her right arm now had almost no feeling at all as she parried each of her opponent's blows using her left arm alone. Before long she was swinging wildly, long hope of winning. He was toying with her and she knew it. She was no match for him in her weakened state.

"Well, this has been fun and all, but I really do have places to be." With that, he quickly bashed her sword aside and lunged forward, stabbing Kaela in the stomach. It was an odd sensation; she could feel little pain as the cold steel sliced through her body. He did not retract right away however; he bent down to look her in the eye, hoping to be the last sight she would see before dying. Kaela then did the unexpected; with what was left of her strength, she grabbed the hilt of his sword with both arms, his hands along with it, and pulled it forward, impaling herself even further. Then, before he could react, she reached back and drew out her dagger. Reaching it around the back of his neck, it looked as if she were about to hug him. With one final burst of strength, she ran the dagger through the back of his neck. It pierced it completely, blood splattering her face as it protruded from his throat. As he collapsed before her, Kaela gripped the sword and with the last of her strength, she pulled it out of her stomach.

With virtually no strength left, Kaela collapsed to her knees and looked up at the clear blue sky, the rest of the soldiers forgotten. Her vision was beginning to fail, but she could still make out the blurry image of a hawk flying low overhead. Suddenly she felt a strange sensation, as if she were floating. Her body became light, and she felt no more pain, only wind rushing through her hair. It was relaxing feeling, and she suddenly felt incredibly tired. With no regrets, Kaela let herself drift off to sleep. _So this is what it's like to die…_

* * *

**Author's notes: **Well, not much to say here.

……

Now that that's done, more surprises to come later! Till next time!


	14. Chapter 12: Escape

**A few opening words: **Sorry for putting this off so long. I had to take a break from writing (which was in part to play Halo 3) to let the ideas cook for a bit, and grow in my head. Anyway, they're about well-done now, so time to pull them out of the oven!

Enjoy…

* * *

"Go, Kaori! You cannot die here! I'll make sure they don't catch up!" Kaela said. Kaorin tried to find words, but couldn't. She stared Kaela in the eyes, and she could tell Kaela believed that there would be no way out for her. She was going to die for Kaorin's sake. Knowing there wasn't anything she could do, Kaorin ran.

Kaorin threw the quiver over her shoulder and tightened the strap as she ran, and kept the bow at the read in her left arm. She knew a few things about archery, having learned it in a summer camp a while back. But she had never been the best shot. Kaorin turned onto the first street to the left, and followed it until it ended. She was faced with two directions, and she quickly realized that this was the alley they had run down earlier. She turned right and headed down where they had gone earlier. Unfortunately, Kaorin briefly forgot why she and Kaela had had to turn back in the first place. She stopped dead in her tracks, and looked upon the charred bridge before her. The fire had gone out, but there was still a six foot gap in the bridge.

_I can do this... _she though, backing up in the process. _I can't let Kaela's sacrifice go to waste! _Kaorin checked the distance, and sprinted at the bridge. Behind her she heard a few yells of guards who had caught up to her. She ignored them, and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. A few more steps and she was on the bridge. Planting her foot as close to the gap as possible, she jumped with all her might. Time seemed to slow as she cleared the gap, landing on the other side of the bridge with a thud. But the bridge, having been weakened by the fire, began to collapse as she landed on it, causing her to stumble forward. Feeling the bridge begin to fall out beneath her, Kaorin let herself fall forward, and tucked her shoulder in, landing in a roll. She rolled off the bridge, and thanks to it being a few steps higher than the stone path, she was able to roll out onto her feet with ease.

Kaorin looked back at what was left of the bridge, which was now, for the most part, floating down the canal. Then she noticed the guards on the far side frantically searching for a way across. Kaorin started to go, before she realized they weren't carrying any ranged weapons. She turned to them, and waved mockingly. One of them called out to her, in his own language, and even though Kaorin couldn't understand what he said, she could tell it was an insult, just by the way he said it. Kaorin turned to go, and as she did, she raised he arm high behind her in a one finger salute. Apparently the gesture had meaning to them as well, as it seemed to enrage them further. Kaorin could hear them calling out angrily after her as she sprinted through the alley, following it hopefully to the edge of the city, and her friends. She followed the passage until it came to a corner. Forgetting how cautious Kaela had been around corners and intersections, she rounded it at full speed, and quickly skidded to a stop.

Up ahead, there was the half open side door in the city walls. Behind it she could see the fields that lay beyond the walls. Blocking her was a sturdy looking guard, and he didn't look happy. Kaorin panicked, and she instinctively brought up the bow. He body seemed to be acting of its own will as she dropped down to one knee. She pulled out an arrow and drew the bowstring back as far as it would go. The guard had just noticed her bow, and started to run at her. Her body still acting before she could think, Kaorin launched the first arrow, and fired off a second before the first connected. Her first shot caught the guard on his left shoulder, the second hitting him low in the abdomen. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, emitting a low painful moan, indicating he was not dead.

Kaorin stood up and ran again, stepping over the incapacitated guard along the way. She reached the door and pushed it open the rest of the way. In front of her lay a wide open field of lush green grass with a few dips and hills here and there, and off in the distance, a wall of tall trees similar to those of the forest they had been transported in. It was a good two kilometers away at least. As Kaorin took all this in, up ahead she saw a small group of people appear over the crest of a small dip. They had been hidden by the depression, and as she looked on, Kaorin saw that there was five of them. As they ran further on, she saw two more, one with a tall sword and another with a sword and shield, both glinting in the sunlight. It was her friends! She was overjoyed to see that they had made it out, but her joy was quickly doused as she saw the two trailing behind, who she identified as Sakaki and Kagura, turn and hold their ground as a pair of guards rushed them from behind, having appeared only moments ago. After quickly dispatching them, Kagura and Sakaki continued running, to Kaorin's relief. But a moment later she saw what looked like a dozen more guards coming out of the depression after the girls, and they weren't far behind. _They'll need my help._

Kaorin pulled the door shut behind her, and ran off after her friends. They had a good kilometer or so of a lead, but as she crested the various hills and depressions, Kaorin saw she was closing the distance fast. Kagura and Sakaki had taken care of another pair of guards, and along with the others, they had almost reached the forest. Kaorin ran a little further, and made it to the top of a hill. There she looked on down at the group of ten guards below her at the bottom of the hill. They were in range of her bow. Kaorin took aim and fired off a volley of arrows, felling a trio of guards. Her friends saw this, and waved frantically. Yomi, Sakaki, and Kagura ran back to fight, now that their odds were better. Before they closed the distance, Kaorin dropped another guard, and wounded another. To her surprise, she didn't feel the remorse or nausea she had felt when she had killed the bandit a few days back. _So it gets easier the more often you kill…_ Despite not feeling what she had before, Kaorin have a lingering feeling of dread. She was a killer now, and whether or not they had deserved it, it didn't sit well with her. But she had to be strong; Kaela had given herself up so that she could live on and fight.

"Kaorin, you're safe!" Sakaki called out. The girls had finished off the remaining guards, and ran over to meet her as she descended the hill. "Where is Kaela-san?" Before Kaorin even answered, she knew Sakaki figured out part of the answer from the look on her own face, which Sakaki took on as well.

"She… stayed back, so that I could escape… She…" Kaorin couldn't finish the sentence. She wasn't crying, but the sentiment was all the same, and everyone felt it. They held a moment of silence for the friend they barely knew, before Sakaki once again took charge.

"Well, we're not being chased anymore, so the way should be clear. Kaela-san said that more Resistance members would be waiting for us in the forest, so we might as well go meet them." Sakaki started out to the forest, and Kaorin quickly followed, the others right behind her. No one spoke, for they were still mourning the loss of Kaela. They entered the forest, and followed Sakaki as she picked her way around a few trees and into a clearing that was covered by the overhanging branches of the tall trees. It looked as though someone had camped here before, by the way the grass was flattened in places, but there was no one there now. The girls gathered at the center of the clearing, and looked around. No Resistance members were anywhere to be seen. Before anyone could say anything, Kaorin heard a rustle of bushes behind them. She quickly raised a hand to silence the others, and stepped forward to get a closer look. Before getting a chance to check out the noise, the answer quickly revealed itself as the girls soon found themselves surrounded by angry looking soldiers. The girls grouped together and formed a circle with Kaorin, Chiyo, and Osaka in the center. Those who would fight held their weapons at the ready.

The girls stared down the soldiers for a few moments before one of the soldiers, probably the captain, raised his hand. A group of five men beside him raised their bows in unison and each notched an arrow. They took aim at the girls in the middle of the clearing. All of a sudden, Kaorin felt a chill in the air around them, and she shivered slightly. She noticed frost forming on the grass below. The captain dropped his arm – the signal to fire. The soldiers promptly followed his order. In the blink of an eye, a wall of ice sprung up and encircled the girls, closing above them in a dome shape. The arrows fired at the now protected girls struck the ice and were deflected off into the air. Kaorin stepped forward and ran her hand over the ice. It was cold, as to be expected, and very smooth. The ice was translucent, and the girls could only make out a few shadows, the forms of the soldiers closing in around them.

Out of nowhere Kaorin saw a blur of motion behind the soldiers as a figure dropped down from the trees above. All at once it was mayhem on the other side of the ice. She heard screams of pain and the clashing of swords, as well as the sounds of a bowstring being pulled and released many times over. Almost before it started, the commotion subsided. The girls looked around, confused. The forms of the soldiers were no longer visible.

"What… just happened?" Kagura questioned. Before anyone could offer an answer, the wall of ice disappeared in a quick gout of fire, leaving behind only a warm mist. There, standing before the girls in the midst of the many dead soldiers, was a single strangely dressed woman with black hair, holding a katana. A second woman dropped down from the trees above, this one with long brown hair, and a short bow in her hand. They met the gaze of the girls, the long haired one with a large grin on her face.

"What, no 'thank you'? We just saved your asses and you just stand there?"

* * *

**Author's notes: **Well there you have it. The girls seem to attract a lot of danger don't they? And who could these new heroes be that saved them? Find out in the next chapter!

Till next time…


	15. Chapter 13: Late Arrivals

**A few opening words: **A thousand apologies for being so late with this one. School and work are being bitches. Anyway, I won't delay further, so on to the chapter.

Enjoy…

* * *

"Speechless? Yeah, I tend to have that effect on people." The long haired woman flipped her hair back dramatically. None of the girls could find words, until…

"Why the hell does it have to be them?!?" Tomo blurted out.

"Oi! Don't refer to us as 'them'! Besides, you owe us!"

"Yukari…"

"The hell we do! We would have been just fine!" Everyone, except Tomo it seemed, could tell there was something different about their teachers. Yukari was also getting increasingly aggravated, as they could tell by the look in her eyes. The girls shied away from Tomo slowly as she continued taunting Yukari.

"Seriously though, you guys probably arrived here in this world at the same time as us. That was like a week ago, but you have nothing to show for it. I, on the other hand, fought off a barbarian horde, captured a pirate ship, and saved their butts in the city over there!" Tomo motioned to the girls at the end of this statement.

"So before you even start, I think I deserve an apology. Let's hear it…" Tomo put her hands on her hips.

"Tomo, I don't think that's a good idea…" Yomi warned, but it was too late.

"There wasn't even one part of that story that was true…" Chiyo muttered to herself.

"Apology eh?" Yukari's eyes seemed to be on fire. This was no exaggeration however, as her pupils really did seem to be on fire. "Well here's your apology, you little brat!" Yukari struck her arm out, pointing at the ground just in front of Tomo. In an instant the ground exploded in a quick burst of flames. Tomo leapt back, her heart now firmly lodged in her throat.

"What the hell?!?" An evil grin found its way onto Yukari's face as she then chased Tomo around the clearing, exploding the ground to the left, right, and sometimes directly in front of the girl.

"Who gave the maniac control of fire?!? Somebody help me for the love of God!" Eventually Yukari tired of this, and simply stopped. Tomo followed suit and looked back, frightened. Yukari rose her arms to either side, and brought them forward, claping her hands once. In an instant, Tomo was surrounded by a wall of fire. Before Yukari had a chance to celebrate her victory however, the fire vanished in a quick cloud of mist, leaving behind a very shaken, yet unharmed Tomo.

"Nyamo, why'd you do that? I was having fun!"

"Really Yukari, you need to grow up." Minamo grabbed Yukari by the collar and pulled her back beside her. "So girls, I imagine you have quite a few questions to ask, but I'll have to ask you to hold them for later. This area is still unsafe; we'll head to our camp a little ways deeper in the woods. There we can talk."

* * *

"Kurosawa-sensei, I've been meaning to ask, what's up with the weird clothes? It's like Ninja gear or something," Kagura asked. She'd been wondering since the teachers showed up, but had waited until they were back at their camp to ask. The teachers were garbed in all black leather armor, very similar to Kaela's. It wasn't heavy armor though; it looked to be suited for agility rather than defense. Upon looking closer, she saw that Minamo's had small blue highlights, and Yukari's had red.

"It's armor… of sorts. The story behind it goes along with how we got here. It's a long story…" She seemed hesitant.

"Just tell them; it's not like it's some closely guarded secret or anything. They'll find out son enough anyway," said Yukari.

"Yeah, you're right. Alright girls, have a seat around the fire." The girls all complied, forming a ring around the small campfire Yukari have spawned from seemingly nowhere.

"Kurosawa-sensei! Before you get into the story, what was that whole fire thing all about?" yelled Tomo, still a little shaken from earlier.

"Oh that. Well, it's kind of hard to explain, and a little hard to understand as well. It's… magic."

"Magic?" the girls asked, confused.

"Yeah. Both Yukari and I can use it, though in different ways. Yukari, do you mind?" Yukari seemed to understand what she wanted, and provided a demonstration. She held out her hand and produced a small ball of fire, which she tossed into the air. As it reached the peak of its arc, Yukari pointed at it abruptly, and it exploded in a puff of smoke, like a firework, to the amazement of the girls.

"Damn, Yukari getting fire powers… we truly are screwed…" muttered Yomi.

"Ah, Kurosawa-sensei, you said you both can use magic. What can you do?" asked Chiyo.

"I was just getting to that." She glanced over at Yukari, to see her holding out another ball of fire, entrancing Tomo and Kagura. A playful grin spread across her face. She raised her hand in the direction of the fire, and in an instant, it solidified into a ball of ice, falling to the ground and shattering on a rock.

"Yukari seems to be able to control only fire, and I can control ice and water. You see, when we got here, we were in the mountains. We found what seemed to be a monastery, and the people there took us in. They seemed very interested in us, and went about training us to fight. We know why now, but we didn't then. Yukari was taught archery mainly, and I sword combat. Though, we were both cross-trained in either field."

"It wasn't until a few days in when we found out about the magic. Apparently very few people in this world have the ability to use it, and they are born like that. It takes special training for them to realize they even possess the ability, except in special cases. Basically, we were told we had that ability, and as such we were taught how to use it. For most though, Yukari and I being no exception, their ability centers on one element or area. In our cases it is fire and ice."

"Why don't you tell them the whole story? We don't have much else to do, and from the sounds of it, they could use some time to relax," said Yukari. Her thoughtful comment drew a few questioning stares from the others. "What? I can't be thoughtful once in a while?"

"Well, if you girls want to hear the story, I'd be glad to tell it. It'll probably take most of the night though." The girls all agreed; a story seemed to be the best way to pass the time.

"Well, I guess I'll start back when we were walking in the park…"

* * *

**Author's notes: **Alright, short chapter this time. That's only because I'm gonna make the next chapter or two a flashback series, detailing Minamo and Yukari's adventures. It'd be too long to include in this chapter.

Also, I'm surprised no one questioned the teachers' whereabouts. They're the only two main Azumanga Daioh characters who had yet to be included, and they were there in the park….

Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter out faster, so long as school agrees.

One last thing: those of you who aren't reviewing, please do! I like hearing opinions, and I know you are out there!

Till next time!


	16. Chapter 14: Flashback Part 1

**A few opening words: **Alright, here's part one of our 'flashback' special. So none of you get confused, the flashback starts back in the park (at the beginning of the story), only through Minamo's perspective. It will also be in first person too, since she is telling a story, as opposed to the narrative I usually use.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Geez Yukari, why'd you have to get all the expensive drinks?" I said, feeling pity for my now empty wallet.

"Well, you said I shouldn't get drunk tonight, so I had to make sure you didn't spend any less." She replied, with an evil grin.

"But… why? And you are drunk."

"Only mildly drunk… besides, it was your treat anyway." As if to punctuate this, she half tripped, forcing me to grab her to keep her from falling.

"You only said that yourself! Besides, it's NEVER your treat!"

"Fine, fine, I'll pay next time."

"My ass you will…" I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, the mindless ramblings of the poor…" I was walking her back to her home after a night out at a bar. We took a shortcut through the park, because, well, I don't really know. We just did. Maybe we didn't make the decision, who knows. At any rate, that was when we were blinded by a bright flash of light that seemed to be everywhere. When it was gone, and we were able to open our eyes again, I noticed a faint glow emanating from a cop of trees off the main path.

"Hey Yukari, you see that glow?"

"Of course I do! What'd you think I am, blind?"

"No, just making sure I was sane…"

"Whatever, let's go home." I ignored this though. Something compelled me to check out the glow, and find out what it was. I grabbed Yukari's hand and darted into the trees, as fast as she was able to run (or stumble, it seemed). I kept going, weaving my way around the trees with Yukari close behind. Up ahead, I could see a small clearing where the glow was coming from.

"Oi, Nyamoooo! Slow dooown!"

"Enough, Yukari, it's not my fault you had to drink so much!" I said, having had enough of her complaining. Upon reaching the edge of the clearing, I found I could go no further. For some reason, the muscles in my legs weren't responding, and thus I couldn't move. In the center of the clearing was a sword, stuck in the ground. Sakaki was standing by it, looking slightly confused. The rest of the girls were at the other side of the clearing.

"Aw, why the hell are _they _here?" said Tomo, just loud enough for Yukari to hear. I knew what was coming.

"Do not refer to us as _they_, you little brat!" yelled Yukari.

"And what're you gonna do about it?" I caught on to Tomo's little plan, but apparently Yukari didn't. I could see from where I was that the girls across the clearing had to be experiencing the same odd feeling, unable to move their legs. Though, I still wasn't sure how Sakaki had made it past the edge of the trees.

"Why you little…" Yukari growled. I simply sighed and shook my head.

"Yukari…" I had given up on warning her. Yukari lost it, and bolted forward into the clearing, intent on hurting Tomo – only to collapse face first in a heap on the grass.

"I… can't… move," was all she could manage to say.

"It's the same for us. There's some weird barrier or something," yelled Tomo.

I ignored whatever else may have been happening and watched Sakaki and the sword. The sword was beautiful. The blade emitted a soft glow, and the metal was unlike any I had seen in a sword before, shining silver, but with a soft blue tone to it. The hilt, from what I could see, was red, and had rubies inlaid in it. Sakaki seemed to be unsure of what to do. An odd fell over me. It was a feeling unlike I had ever felt before; it felt like something big was going to happen, something important, that would affect all our lives. It was unsettling, to say the least.

Maybe Sakaki felt it too, I wasn't sure, but if she did, she was unaffected by it. She reached out and gripped the sword. With a quick tug, she pulled it clear of the ground. There was no dirt to be seen on the part of the blade that had been in the ground. The clouds above parted revealing a full moon. The moonlight reflected off the blade casting an eerie light over the clearing. All of a sudden, there was another flash of light, this one seemingly brighter than before, and accompanied by a brief flash of pain all over my body, followed by an odd tingling sensation, as if I had just received a bad burn everywhere and been healed instantly. What followed was hard to describe; it was as if every feeling washed over me. Pain, relief, joy, pleasure; everything the human body can feel, all at once. The sensation was both scary and wonderful at the same time. It overloaded my sense, and I blacked out.

* * *

**Author's notes: **This would be longer, but then I got to thinking: since I ended Chapter 1 when the girls blacked out, why should Minamo and Yukari's tale be any different? Also, something came up, and I don't have any more time to work on it tonight. So, since this is a good ending to the chapter, however short it may be, I'll at least leave you guys with something to read. Don't hate me for it!

Till nest time!


	17. Chapter 15: Flashback Part 2

**A few opening words: **Not much to say here. Enjoy part two of the Flashback. Oh, its still in First Person, Minamo's perspective.

* * *

I awoke some time later to a dull aching all over my body; the feelings of pleasure long in the past, to my disappointment. Yukari was lying on the grass beside me, still unconscious. I wondered whether she'd had the same experience I did. Looking around, it became apparent that we were no longer in the park we had started out in. From what I could see, we were in a small forest clearing on the side of a mountain. We would have probably rolled down the steep incline if not for being on a small flat section, probably cause by a rock slide long ago. 

I stood up, ignoring the ache in my muscles, to take a better look at our surroundings. I looked up at the massive mountain above us, and saw that it climbed high into the sparse clouds above, obscuring the peak. I noticed all around us there were mountains, the taller ones with snow-capped peaks. We appeared to be in a mountain range, but not like any I'd ever seen before.

I then began to notice that it was not overly warm either; probably only about 15 Celsius. Every now and then a cool breeze blew through. I did not shiver, though I did feel cold. Oddly enough though, the cold was refreshing, and when the breezes came, it felt even better.

Judging by the temperature and wind, we were high upon the mountain, and looking carefully over the edge of the small cliff we were on, I couldn't see the ground, for the view was blocked by another cloud layer. _These must be at least as tall as the Swiss Alps! But there's very little snow, so we can't be there…__ At any rate, the way below us is too steep; we'd fall for sure. Looks like we'll be heading to the top then_I thought.

Since Yukari didn't look like she'd wake up anytime soon (and I kind of wanted some peace for a little while), I took a seat at the base of a nearby tree and leaned back against it, closing my eyes. At a glance, I noticed that my clothes were singed around the edges, most likely caused by whatever brought us here in the first place. With no answer obvious, I left that to be explained later, instead shifting my thoughts to my new affinity to the cold.

It was odd in a sense; the cooler air made me feel like what you would normally feel when walking into a home with a furnace on a winter day. It felt _better _than being warm did. I wasn't sure what it was all about, but it didn't bother me much. Though, I did wonder how I would now feel in really hot weather. It seemed logical to conclude that I would feel the effects of heat at lower temperatures than others, but I had no way to test it. My thoughts were soon interrupted by a waking Yukari.

Yukari shifted slightly then bolted upright clutching her shoulders. She shivered violently.

"Why the hell is it so _cold _all of a sudden?" she said through clenched teeth. I suddenly realized I was wearing a tank-top under my long-sleeved shirt, so, feeling generous, I took off the shirt and tossed it to Yukari. The cool air felt much better in the tank-top anyway. Yukari pulled the shirt over her own in the blink of an eye, and it seemed to stop the shivering, or at least make her shiver less.

"Thanks Nyamo, that helps. So where are we anyway? This doesn't look like the park."

"I dunno; we're in the mountains somewhere, that's about all I know. Hey, weren't you drunk before?" I asked, suddenly becoming aware that she was no longer slurring her speech.

"Hey, yeah! I guess that weird thing that happened a little while ago fixed it."

"'Weird thing'? You mean the blinding light and uh, the odd sensation right? You felt that too?"

"Odd is right. It was like the worst pain in the world followed by the best sex in the world," she said, with a far off, satisfied look in her eyes. However bluntly put, that was an accurate description.

"Yeah, that was it. Anyway, in our current situation, we really only have one option. We hike up the mountain."

"Aw… why do we have to hike? My muscles are all sore, and its freakin' cold too," she complained.

"Shut it; my muscles are sore too. And it's not that cold. Exercise will keep your body temperature up too, so come on." Truth be told, I wasn't really in the mood for a hike either, but we had no choice. With Yukari close behind, I made my way up the steep grassy incline

* * *

"Nyamo, why do you always get us into these situations?" Yukari whined, as she had the entire past 2 hours.

"First, I didn't get us into this situation; we were unconsciously transported here. Second; the only way we had to go was up. Third-"

"We could've just stayed on the ledge…" she said, cutting me off. I continued as if I didn't hear her.

"Third, _please _stop complaining. Pushing you backwards off the mountain is sounding better and better…" We had hiked what had to be at least a kilometer or two's worth of the mountain, but still we appeared to be no closer to the top. The incline seemed to be getting steeper as we went; I now had to use the jutting out rocks as footholds at times, as my shoes would no longer grip the grass. Looking up once again, I saw that we were very close to the cloud ceiling I had seen from below. _Only a hundred more feet or so to climb._

I climbed the distance in less time than I thought, with Yukari still following reluctantly. As I made my way into the cloud, which was, for all intensive purposes, very dense fog now, I found that the ground leveled out. I waited for Yukari to catch up before moving forward. The fog was so thick I couldn't see more than 15 feet in front of me, so it was quite a surprise when we happened upon a huge wooden gate. The gate seemed to be of old-style Japan, from the earlier generations, and from the looks of it and the wall, it probably enclosed some form of temple.

Yukari and I approached the massive doors cautiously, and as we did they soundlessly opened in front of us. We stepped inside, and wandered forth at a slightly faster pace. As we left the gate behind, it closed shut behind us. We were now completely encompassed by the fog; there was nothing visible on either side. For a moment, I thought I heard something sounding like footsteps, and I grabbed Yukari's arm to stop her, placing a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. We waited in silence, but the sound did not return.

Just as I thought it was safe to continue, I heard the distinctive sound of a twig snapping directly behind us. On instinct, I grabbed Yukari by the shoulders and threw her to the ground sideways, as I dove in the opposite direction. My instincts were not wrong. I quickly rolled over in time to see a young woman – maybe a few years older than Sakaki, with her body shape as well – twirling a Guandao acrobatically around her. She looked me in the eye as she brought it down in another vertical strike. I rolled to the left just in time; the blade struck the ground where I had been moments before. I scrambled to my feet.

The woman, having lost no momentum, twirled the weapon around in a mesmerizing arc, clearly an expert with the weapon. She lashed out with it in both stabs and slashes, all of which I barely managed to doge, by jumping back or to either side. The fierce determination in her eyes told me she wasn't going to back down. Then the moment I was waiting for arose. She let the weapon linger after a strike a fraction too long, giving me time to grab the end, where the blade met the pole, and heaved it towards me, pulling her off balance. She stumbled forward with her weapon as I spun around, bringing my leg out in a straight kick aimed at her stomach. To my surprise, she shifted her weight ever so slightly and dodged the kick. Before I knew what was happening, she was beside me. She clipped the back of my head with her elbow as she went by, dropping me to the ground by the force of the attack.

I quickly rolled over, despite the pain in my head, in an attempt to escape, but found myself in a far worse position than I had hoped. There was the woman, standing over me with the blade of the Guandao hovering mere millimeters from my throat. I dared not move.

"Eri! Calm down, can't you see these two are of no harm to us?" A man in a simple robe stepped out of the fog. He appeared to be a monk, as I guessed from his robe and lack of hair. The woman didn't think twice; she twirled the blade away from my throat and muttering an apology, she offered the opposite end to help me up. My heart from my throat to its original place, and I grabbed on. She was a lot stronger than she appeared, pulling me to my feet with little effort. I noticed Yukari had since got to her feet as well; she now stood at my side.

This truce gave me time to get a good look at the girl. She was probably an inch or two taller than Sakaki, and her skin was tanned, much like Kagura's. Her body was shaped like Sakaki's as well, though her curves were more prominent. Her eyes were dark blue in color, and bore an air of confidence and determination about them. Her hair was the same color as Sakaki's, and fell almost to the ground behind her. It was tied about a foot from the end, and the last foot seemed to curl up ever so slightly. She wore little clothing, a simple short t-shirt and mini-skirt. Though her clothing could be considered skimpy and revealing – which it was – she didn't seem to notice, and with how acrobatically and quick she moved, less clothing would make it easier for her to fight. The monk, who was beside her, looked like your average monk with a mahogany colored robe. He appeared to be late in his years, and his brown eyes showed immense wisdom and experience. He approached us and bowed deeply.

"I am so terribly sorry; Erika here can be a little… overzealous when it comes to visitors. My name is Raul, and – oh my, you're bleeding. Please, come with me and we'll take care of your wounds." I had only just realized that I was bleeding in at least 4 places; all thin cuts on the sides of my torso, caused by Erika's attacks which came a little too close for comfort. I didn't care about the fact that the shirt was ruined.

"Um, Raul, if you don't mind me asking, where are we?" I asked.

"Oh, I completely forgot!" He waved both arms, and almost as if following his commands, the fog disappeared, revealing a temple that had been previously hidden. It wasn't overly large – only three stories in the main section, the two wings being 2 stories, and it was built in the traditional Japanese style.

"Welcome to the Temple of Alastor!"

* * *

**Author's notes: **Well, part 3 will most likely be the last in the flashback series. After that, I may do a character sheet or two, so let me know which two new characters you'd like to see; Erika, Raul, Dedalus, or Ternil. 

On another note, I have updated my profile with a pair of upcoming fics I will be doing once on or two of my current ones are done. There is no more than a quick one sentence preview for each (much like what you get when posting a story), and a title. Both are/will be crossovers with games. Anyway, I will have a little contest of sorts with this, you can see what I mean in my profile.

Lastly, before I go, I'll give you a little description of the Guandao, for those of you who don't know what it is.

**Guandao: **A Guandao or kwandao is a type of Chinese pole weapon that is currently used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. It is an ornate version of a plainer Chinese weapon known as a pudao (long-handled sabre) or horse cutter and consists of a heavy blade mounted atop a 5-6 foot long wooden or metal pole with a pointed metal counter weight used to balance the heavy blade and for striking on the opposite end. The blade is very deep and curved on its face; this resembles a Chinese sabre or the Japanese naginata and bisento, or the European glaive and voulge. Often the edge will taper to a point on the top for thrusting. The reverse has a spike used for hooking and dismounting victims. In addition there are sometimes irregular serrations that lead the back edge of the blade to the spike. Usually a red sash or tassel is attached at the joint of the pole and blade. Variations include having rings along the length of the straight back edge as found in the nine-ring guan dao, having the tip curl into a rounded spiral as in the elephant guan dao, or featuring a more ornate design as exemplified by the Dragon head guan dao.

(the above taken from the Wikipedia article)

Till next time!


	18. Chapter 16: Flashback Part 3

**A few opening words: **Sorry this took so damn long… lotta things going on, Call of Duty 4's release included. For one, I took a long time to do this because it's a real plot point, or is compared to the others. You'll see, but anyway, I had to take some time to iron out the details and make sure I liked how it sounded, and that it fit my overall plan. Basically, sorry for the delay, and if it happens again, blame school (and a great year for games).

Anyway, without any further delay, enjoy!

* * *

"The Temple of Alastor? Who was he, some sort of God?" Yukari questioned. 

"A God among men, of sorts. No, he did not possess any divine abilities, though it seemed like it at times, according to the scriptures." Raul paused for a moment. "I find it odd that you haven't heard of him. While he is the patron saint of the Resistance, in a sort, nearly everyone in the land at least knows of the legend." He looked Yukari and I up and down before continuing again. "You aren't from around here, are you?" he asked, with a grin tugging at the edges of his mouth.

"No, not at all. In fact, I don't even know how we got here." I answered.

"Oh my! This is-" he chuckled, and restarted. "What do you remember about how you came to be here? What happened before?" It wasn't hard for me to answer; it was the only thing on my mind at the moment, other than the fact that I'd just been attacked by an exotic woman carrying a weapon bigger than me.

"Well, we were in a park, back in the city we lived in, and out of nowhere, there was this bright flash of light. When it cleared, we, along with 7 of our students, found the source of it to be a sword." I took a second to recall exactly what had happened. Raul was still listening intently, as was Erika, surprisingly, though she didn't overtly show it. Her hair fell across her face and covered her left eye, giving her an even more intimidating aura. "Well, when we tried to go and check it out, some sort of force field stopped all f us, except for one of our students; Sakaki. She went down, and picked up the sword, which was about the size of a claymore, maybe bigger. Then, there was another flash of light, and before I was knocked unconscious, there was an odd sensation, like every nerve in my body was stimulated all at once. Apparently Yukari here felt it too."

"Indeed! This is marvelous! Can you think of anything else out of the ordinary, aside from being in a whole new place?" he asked.

"No… other than not feeling cold at all, despite the elevation, and Yukari being half frozen."

"Ah yes, that is interesting. Though, that pretty much settles it…" Raul looked to be in deep thought for a moment, before he suddenly took notice of my injuries, however minor they were. "Oh my, you've been hurt! Come with me, we'll get you patched up. And bring your friend too, we'll get her some warm clothes." He stopped and took a look at both of them, and their singed clothes. "On second thought, you both could use a pair. Erika, you should accompany us, there is much talk to come."

* * *

The two of us were shuffled along into the left wing of the temple, through a few hallways, and into a small dimly lit room near the back of the temple. Erika stood near the door, leaning against a wall, with her Guandao, named the Blue Dragon Crescent Moon, as she had said, in one hand. Raul bid them to take a seat around the small table in the middle as he opened a sliding door along the wall and disappeared into a side chamber. 

"When I first saw you two, I had an idea you might be from elsewhere. But after hearing your story, it got me thinking about an old legend…" his voice trailed off from the room, and soon enough, he emerged, carrying a pair of medium sized wood boxes. Both were relatively plain, but skillfully crafted.

"Put these on please. They'll help with your… temperature issues, and help me discern whether my suspicions are true or not." We did as we were told, and changed behind a small partition Erika set up for us. The outfits turned out to be fitted leather armor, a lot like what you would see on a Ninja, or something. The two suits were exactly the same, save for their highlights; small strips of color on the black. Hers had light blue, and Yukari's had red. I quickly noticed that, now wearing the suit, I felt the temperature regulated to the perfect amount. Not too hot, not too cold; which was odd, considering the temple was heated, and I had been sweating profusely before.

"How do they fit?" Raul asked. I was too busy trying to contemplate the sudden change in temperature; and I suspected Yukari was as well, by the look on her face, to notice that the suit fit perfectly. It fit snug to her every curve, yet it was flexible enough to not impede movement.

"Perfectly, actually. How did you know they would fit?"

"Ah, that will come in due time, my dear. First, I'd like you two to perform a small exercise with me," he said, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. He took two apples from a fold in his robes and set them on the table, one in front of each woman.

"Now, close your eyes and calm your senses. Relax your entire body. I want you to picture the apple in your mind's eye; _see _it, _feel _it…"

"Excuse me but, what is the point of this?"

"Yukari, geez, just go with it."

"Yes, please do; it won't take long, and I'm sure you'll be surprised by the results." He paused, letting Yukari calm down.

"Now, focus on the apple, and the apple alone. Concentrate on nothing else."

"How are we supposed to concentrate on it if we can't feel it?" I asked, not breaking what little focus I had.

"You will, just trust me. Now, focus, as much as you can, and hold that focus." I tried my best, and focused all my strength and senses on the apple. For a short time, there was nothing, but soon enough, in my mind, I could see the apple. Briefly, I felt something… different. It felt like ice water, pooling in the back of my mind. Before I could manage anything else, I was interrupted by a loud curse from Yukari. I opened my eyes calmly, and saw her sprawled back on the floor away from the table. My apple was sitting on the table unaffected by anything, whereas Yukari's had been reduced to a small pile of soot, with a black burn mark surrounding it.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked.

"In a moment. Minamo, did you feel anything out of the ordinary?" Raul asked.

"Well, yeah. For one, I was able to see the apple in my mind, which was weird enough already. But near the end, I felt something else… it was like ice water, a pool of it in the back of my mind." Raul beamed at her answer.

"Wonderful! Simply wonderful! It is as I thought, Erika! Go get the other package please." Erika nodded curtly and left through the door. "Now, allow me to explain. First, the ability to see the apple, and feel it with all your senses, with the exception of sight, is reserved for a select few. Well, I shouldn't say select; no one chooses who is gifted with them. Anyway, this is the first signs of magical ability; that is, the ability to manipulate forces unseen by normal people. You two happen to be gifted.

"Everyone who has the ability to use magic can use it in different ways, though most only in one or two. Only the truly gifted, Erika for example, can use it to its fullest extent. The magic itself takes the form of that sensation you two felt in the backs of your minds, and by the sounds of things, it has focused itself to one element that you would be most proficient with. Yukari's manifested in the form of fire, and yours, when you become able to use it, in the form of ice.

"But there's more to it than that. Very few people in this world are gifted with this power, less than you can count on your hand. There are many more that have limited use of it of course, but not even enough to harm a rodent. Save for a few exceptions, the only beings who have truly mastered the art of magic are those from the other Realm, that is to say, your world."

"You mean there have been more of us? More people being transported here?" I asked.

"I'll get to that. First of all, I'll tell you of the legend I believe in, the very same you and your friends may have brought back to life. Come with me."

* * *

Raul led the two of us through a small sliding door that was previously part of the wall. Either magic was at play here, or it was simply well hidden. We walked down numerous long corridors, and down many flights of stairs until they reached a room, slightly larger than the one we had left. I figured it had to be very cold down here; I could see my own breath, but it had no effect on me or Yukari, due to the armor we wore. As I looked around, I saw the walls were covered in old runes and symbols, all of which she couldn't understand. 

"It has been very difficult to decipher these runes; many have been eroded away by time. But, this is where it is written.

_In times of need, I shall return;_

_When a Hero is needed, one will arise;_

_Not from the world we know, but from another realm;_

_Each will wield my sword, and defeat thy evil;_

_But all shall perish with it._

_In time, True Evil will arise and challenge the fate of the world;_

_This is when a true Hero will arise, the true master of Ragnarok;_

_Eight Heroes of old and one new will signal this arrival;_

This next part I cannot read, but it continues here...

_Only once bonded with Ragnarok, can the one true Hero succeed;_

_The last Arbiter, the one to end it all._

"This is where it ends. That sword you saw in the park; that was Ragnarok. It is a magical sword created many thousands of years ago by a great mage named Alastor. An evil wizard, Vaaska, had risen up in an attempt to destroy all life; for what, I do not know. Alastor used all the power he had and created the sword, and, using it, he managed to defeat Vaaska. In his battle however, he was mortally wounded, and died. Upon his death, the sword disappeared. Over the intervening time, 8 times the sword has returned to fight off evil, each time in the hands of a different warrior, all from another realm. These people became known as the Arbiters in their time, but all died upon completing their task.

"It is said that, when Alastor was mortally wounded, he fused part of his soul with the sword, and he lives on as part of it. They say this is how the sword chooses its master. Anyway, the legend was not written by some mere hopeful. It was spoken by Alastor on his deathbed. Though, the true words may have been skewed over time, this is what he said.

"At last, I come to you girls. The suits you are wearing belonged to the 4th and 5th Arbiters. The 4th had an unparalleled command over fire, and the 5th over ice. Their names were Yukira Tanizaki and Mireiia Kurosawa, your ancestors." The volume of what he said washed over us. It gave me a new sense of pride to bear my name, even though I had no more knowledge other than what I had just been told. Yukari seemed the same way; she had yet to speak up.

"'Eight heroes of old, and one of new;' I believe the meaning of this is what you represent: the ancestors of the eight past Arbiters will arrive, and with them, is the true Arbiter, the one who will vanquish all evil! Must meet these students of yours as soon as possible…" he trailed off into deep thought. "I am getting ahead of myself. First, there is the matter of your training. Though, you will find you are far more proficient in combat than you suspect; remnants of your ancestors' warrior spirit may yet reside in you." At that moment, Erika arrive in the room, bearing a red rectangular cushion. Resting on top of it was a pair of black headbands, each with a different rune embroidered on the front. One was in light blue, the other read, matching their armor.

"These are the family symbols of your ancestors; they are yours now to bear."

* * *

**Author's notes: **If the whole legend bit sounds corny, sorry. I've never been that good at writing that sort of stuff, and I'll probably go back and change it a bit. At least it gets the point across. And yes, Raul is very long-winded.

Oh, and there'll be one more chapter of the flashback, probably a shorter one too. For now though, I gotta go! Let me know what ya think, and I'll try to be faster with the next one!


	19. Chapter 17: Flashback Part 4

**A few opening words: **Delays. School and work were conspiring against me! Soooooooo sorry about the long wait! Anyway, a few short things to say before the chapter, so bear with me.

First, to prepare you, there may be some tragedy later on in the fic (as may have been apparent by the first death anyway). I just don't want you guys to expect sunshine and lollipops the whole way through.

Also, a lot of my own characters in the story that play larger roles (such as Kaela) were/are characters I use in forum-based Role Playing Games, so killing any one of them isn't the easiest thing. Erika is also one, if you wish to know. She's also one of my faves, Kaela coming in second. There, a little into the mind of the author for you!

Anyway, Enjoy!

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"So, we're part this 'Legend' thing then?" Yukari asked.

"Yes, I believe you are. Of course, there's no way to be sure."

"Then, are we fated to die, just like our ancestor's?" Yukari seemed to be a little worried, which surprised me. She faced death every time she stepped into her car.

"I can't say, only the Arbiters themselves have died in the past. You two are not Arbiters, but descendants of them. One of your students is the next Arbiter, and if I am read that right, then he or she will be the true master of Ragnarok; the last Arbiter."

"It's a she. Sakaki Reiko." I said.

"Yes, there have been no past Arbiters by that name. Whether or not she dies upon completing her task is up to fate." I decided to ask no more questions; it seemed as though Raul had told us all he knew. So, without a word, he got up and led us out of the room. Upon reaching the smaller room where we had started, he split off, and Erika led us around to the training area of the Temple, a small clearing in the trees behind the building. The tall girl didn't speak much, but merely standing by her was unnerving. Whether it was the way she walked, or merely her quiet attitude, it was impossible not to tell that she was an incredibly deadly person, if provoked. And if I had any experience with that, I'd say it didn't take much.

Soon enough, Raul exited the building carrying two long rectangular boxes. He gave one to Erika, who leaned her Guandao against a tree and opened the box. From it, she pulled out a long, slightly curved Katana. It was in an emerald green sheath. She stood back and leaned against the tree, sword in one hand.

Raul opened the second case and tossed its contents to me. It was another Katana, but this one was straight. The hilt and sheath were made of wood, and together they looked a bit like a cane, with gold trim at the end ands and where the hilt met the scabbard. A carved dragon wrapped itself around the length of the scabbard.

"Erika, you may commence the training."

"Wait, what?" I gasped. The second Raul spoke those words, Erika leapt into action. She had the sword out in the blink of an eye and tossed the scabbard o the side. She dashed forward, directly at me, and swept the sword out at my chest. I barely had time to draw my own sword, and block the horizontal attack. What happened next was a blur. My body seemed to act of its own accord, blocking and parrying Erika's strikes at the last moment, and moving so fast that my mind couldn't keep up. The whole while Erika didn't seem fazed at all; she still wore the same semi-serious look as always.

Then, almost before it began, it was over. She did a particularly strong horizontal slash which knocked me off balance slightly. She spun and delivered a swift low kick, sweeping my feet out from under me. I looked up at the sword poised over my neck, but I could manage no words.

"Since we don't have much time, your training will be short and hard. You and Yukari will rotate between training your magic skills and combat skills. For now, you can continue with Erika; Yukari, come with me. We'll begin your magic training." With that, Raul led a speechless, and somewhat reluctant, Yukari back into the building. I looked over at Erika, who was in a relaxed combat stance; not waiting for an attack, but ready nonetheless.

"Is there anything you _aren't _extremely skilled at?" I asked, more of a joke than anything. Rather than speak, she answered with a small shake of the head. "You should meet Sakaki; she's quite like you." With that, I charged. I had barely any idea what I was doing, but my body seemed to, so we launched into our second sparring match.

"Oh, I should warn you; be serious about fighting, even now. If you let your guard down, you will get killed." Said Raul.

"Huh?" I didn't have time to respond however as I launched my attack. Erika effortlessly parried the blow and I was on the defensive again. I blocked each blow, and it seemed to be getting easier o do as time went on, however little time passed. I felt confident enough to attack, so that's what I did. Or, at least, what I had planned to do.

As soon as I drew my sword back to attack, Erika changed stances, into one lower to the ground. I swung my sword sideways, and she batted it into the air hard, out of my grip. Then, she sprang forward past me, raking her sword across my left side as she did. For a moment, I felt a slight breeze as she went by, then my torso erupted in pain. I fell to my knees, hands clutching at the gaping wound in my side as the blood literally poured from it.

"Wha-aaaugh! Why!?"

"If you intend to fulfill your place in the legend, there is no halfway. Not even in training." Suddenly, the calm and peaceful monk had become cold, tough teacher.

"Erika will give 100, and I expect you to do the same, injured or not. If not, then you may end up losing your life, dear Minamo." Just then, I heard a rustle behind me, and I knew Erika was coming at me again, probably with her sword aimed at my neck, if what Raul said held any truth. My sword was too far away for me to reach, so, I waited until I could wait no longer and threw myself sideways towards it, tucking my head low to avoid an attack. I was only partially successful. Seeing that I had avoided her intended strike, Erika altered the direction of her blade and instead cut deep into my right bicep. More blood fell onto the ground and I listed on the verge of passing out for a moment.

I clutched the new wound with my other arm as I lay on the ground screaming in pain. Though, it wasn't much of a scream; no sound came out. Forcing myself to suck it up, I tested my arm which, to my dismay, was too painful to use effectively. Looking around, I saw my sword still on the ground a few feet away, barely out of reach. Erika turned around to face me. I saw what looked like regret in her eyes before she leapt forward again, this time to deliver the finishing blow.

Barely able to move, and my sword too far to reach, I struggled to find something, some way to protect myself. I watched in slow motion as Erika's sword descended towards me, inching ever closer. As my death drew nearer, I closed my eyes and threw my arms up in front of me, crossing my forearms in a feeble attempt to block the attack. I struggled for some way, and at the last moment, with the only thought on my mind being of something to defend myself with, the ice water feeling in the back of my mind exploded. It engulfed my mind, ran down my back and out into my arms. I felt the air around me grow instantly colder, and then a loud crunch.

I opened my eyes and was immensely surprised to see that there was a large circular shield of ice between me and Erika's sword, and it seemed to be frozen to my arms. Erika's sword had dug deep into it, but not all the way through. She quickly dislodged the sword, and as soon as I took my mind off the ice shield, it vanished in a cool mist. I lay there panting, still in pain from my previous wounds, wondering what had just happened.

"Good. Erika; please see to her wounds. They may become a problem if left untreated." I watched from the ground as she retrieved her scabbard and sheathed her sword, tossing the combination to Raul. Erika then walked over to where I lay and knelt down beside me. She looked over my wounds for a moment. Placing her hands above the wound in my side and closed her eyes. In an instant the pain was gone, replaced by the familiar feeling of ice water flowing over the spot where the wound was, dissipating quickly. She moved to my arm and did the same. In no time flat, I was completely healed.

"The purpose of that exercise was twofold: one, to show you that any training done here should be to the best of your ability. No holding back, no matter what the subject. Two, it brought out your magical ability. I'm sure you felt the ice water feeling flow out from the mind, correct? Specifically, we refer to that as the _essence _of magic. It is only magic once used, and you use it by intense concentration, usually easiest in a life-or-death situation. There are some exceptions like your friend Yukari. In time, it will become second nature."

Raul then strode over to Erika and collected her sword, returning it to its case.

"That sword is yours to keep. May it serve you well. From this point on, Erika will use whatever weapon she sees fit. She will be your combat training teacher. As for me, I'll be teaching you in using magic, to its fullest." He was about to head off to the sidelines again, but stopped to speak more. "Oh, and before you ask, that suit of yours is more special than you think. It has many enchantments, put on by its original owner. For one, it is self-mending; you should see that the tears caused by Erika's sword are gone. Second, since you have an affinity for ice, you will tend to feel more at home in cooler temperatures, which is why you felt normal despite being so high up in the mountains. Your suit regulates the temperature you feel, regardless of where you are, so you don't die of dehydration in the desert any faster than anyone else." He looked over at Yukari.

"The same goes for yours Yukari, though it's more of the opposite. You are more affected by cool temperatures, and your suit adjusts what you feel to compensate. Also, both suits contain enchantments that both strengthen the magic you use, and increase the ease of which you can use it." As Raul passed by Yukari, he tossed her the sword he had taken from Erika, after once again removing it from the case. "You should learn sword combat too, Yukari."

I stood up finally and watched Erika grab her Guandao as Yukari strode over beside me. Erika took her Guandao, and with a quick twirl dropped into a combat stance. Yukari and I both drew our swords and readied ourselves. Raul said one last thing as he entered the temple.

"Combat training starts now."

* * *

I lost track of time while training there; maybe it was because of the fog barrier, but there was no way to tell if it was day or night. The amount of light never changed at any time, except for inside the temple.

In the short time we had been training, I became an expert swordsman, and Yukari, oddly enough, an extremely skilled archer. She had become skilled with the sword as well, and still preferred to carry a tanto in addition to her small bow. Even though we had grown exponentially in skill, Erika was still leagues above us, effortlessly beating the both of us at the same time.

Along with our now excellent combat skills, magic came easy to us now. Raul was correct; with time, it had become second nature. Both Yukari and I were able to shape and form our respective elements, I ice and she fire, in any way we wanted. It was exhilarating to be able to do so.

Eventually, after what I guessed was a few days, Raul approached us at the end of a training session.

"Minamo, Yukari, something's come up."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Your friends have been found, although it looks like they may be in need of help soon."

"What? When did you find this out?" I demanded, probably a little more forceful than was necessary.

"Just a few moments ago. I agree with what you will no doubt demand to do. You two should leave immediately. I trust Erika went through all the wilderness survival skills with you?" I nodded. In between training with her and Raul, that was what we were doing, aside from sleeping that is.

"Then you should go. Right now, it is midday, despite what it may look like here. Travel south until you reach the coast, then west until you reach Enwich. If you don't meet up with them along the way, you will meet them there." He smiled. "Your training is not complete, but you should be fine until you make it back. Once you meet up with them, bring them back here. The Resistance might be able to help in that regard, if only by pointing you in the right direction, as I doubt you'll be able to find your way back alone. No offence intended." I was glad he said that, though I doubt it had any effect other than to stop Yukari from blurting out something rude.

"Before we go, I want to thank you… for everything so far. For the training, for the… truth of our past… everything."

"You don't need to thank me. Now go, help your friends, and make new friends along the way." With that, we left. Something about the way Raul looked at us when we did told us there were no more words that needed to be said, so, we left. After three days of travelling, both day and night, we arrived at the port city of Enwich.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Back to the main story next chapter guys. Sorry for the delay. Oh, and if I slipped up at all and went back to 3rd person for a paragraph, let me know. I did that a few times by accident while typing...

Till next time!


	20. Character Profile: Erika Shikou

**A few opening words:**As a little interlude before we get back to the main story, here is the second OC profile, Erika Shikou.

Also, I know, I haven't updated in a long time. Two reasons: family over the holidays, and finishing memories Lost (which was my one major goal over Christmas). Unfortunately, you will most likely see slow updates for another 2-3 weeks still, as exams are coming up (gotta study dammit!). I will try to update whenever I can.

* * *

**Name: **Erika Shikou

**Age: **23 (Assumed; see Biography)

**Gender: **Female

**Appearance: **In layman's terms,Erika tall (roughly 5'11", taller than Sakaki) and slender, generously proportioned, and has an exotic body. Her skin is lightly tanned. Her eyes are blue in color, and seem to change from light blue (when she's serious, or in battle) to dark blue at all other times. Her hair is very long, longer than Sakakis, as it falls down to the ground, and curls up at the end. About a foot from the end, Erika has the hair through a small metal ring, to keep it from spreading out. Erika's hair color is similar to Sakaki's in that it is a very dark shade, yet instead of raven/dark blue, it has more of a magenta/violet tint to it. Almost always her left eye is covered by her bangs. She wears clothing that is functional and simple, also usually on the smaller side when it comes to total fabric used. She doesn't mind showing skin at all, and wears a simple T-shirt that stops about midway down her torso, along with a mini skirt.

One last thing to note is that, if one looks closely, they would see numerous (faint) scars throughout her body. They are tough to see, and rarely does anyone notice, but they are there (see Biography for details)

Probably the best way to describe her overall physique is to say that she is built like Sakaki, but more accentuated (taller, more athletic, bigger bust, etc.).

**Weapons: **Along, silver Guandao (search it on Wikipedia). It is a one of a kind weapon, named the Blue Dragon Crescent Moon. The weapon stands just over 8 feet tall from tip of blade to end of shaft, and is made from a silvery metal, which has a subtle blue tint to it. The shaft and blade are both nigh indestructible, and the blade never requires sharpening, due to the inherent magical effects of the metal. She has a blue ribbon tied around the shaft at the junction, with both ends hanging down a little more than a foot. The blade is irregularly shaped, but despite this, it is sharpened on all edges (except the junction), making it very lethal. (See link below). It also has a small blade on the bottom, similar to a spearhead. When traveling, or not using it as a weapon, she has the blade covered by a dark violet-colored bag/cloth, more to keep it clean, and to keep people from thinking she's looking for trouble.

For a better visual of the weapon:

http://i21. and paste into the address bar. Had to do it in MS paint, it was the easiest way)

**Skills/Preferred Combat:**First of all, it should be noted that Erika knows and is an expert at just about any fighting style, armed or unarmed. She is extremely proficient with any weapon, ranging from the sword, to an axe, and even archery. However, this is not all she knows. On top of her physical prowess, she is also a powerful magic user. As of yet, she hadn't met a match in either category.

Erika's preferred weapon is her Guandao. She doesn't have a preferred fighting style (form of martial arts, etc), rather she strings together multiple different styles, varying how she fights at all times, in order to keep the enemy on their toes.

Erika's knowledge of magic is substantial. She can control the elements with ease, as well as telekinesis and some psychic-like abilities. However, she rarely uses anything but the element of air, earning her the title Wind-mage by some. There is no limit to what she can do with her abilities.

Overall, Erika is a melee fighter. She prefers not to use magic unless the situation requires it. She goes by honor; if she can do something they can't (ie: magic) then she simply doesn't use that. She will fight on her opponent's terms, and win by their terms.

**Biography/history:**Erika's (known) history only goes back roughly 3 years, unfortunately. It was in the middle of spring when she showed up at the gates of the Temple, badly wounded and barely alive, her Guandao the only thing keeping her from collapsing. After nearly a 4 month period where she drifted in and out of consciousness, she finally recovered, for the most part. It took the better part of a year for all her wounds to heal. Upon awaking, Erika was apparently left with no memory of any events before arriving at the temple, aside from her name. Whether its memory loss, or simply her not wanting to talk about her past is anyone's best guess.

When she arrived, no one knew her exact age (and she didn't mention it as well), but she seemed to be roughly 21, so it stuck. However in the three years since, she hasn't appeared to age one bit. To add to the mystery of her past, Erika is wise far beyond her years (though she doesn't show it most of the time), and when one looks into her eyes, they wouldn't see a young woman, they would be greeted by the eyes of a grizzled warrior, like someone who has been through countless wars and seen innumerable horrible things.

It didn't take long for Erika to fit in with the monks. She shared their values, and magical prowess, as well. Though, let it be known that only one person in the Temple knows how powerful she truly is. This person is Raul, who is also the one who first found her when she arrived at the gates. He and Erika became like family, and as such, he knows everything about her, save for her past. He keeps Erika's power a secret, as does Erika herself. The rest of the Temple's inhabitants would likely grow uneasy if they found out that someone with enough power to kill them all with a passing glance lived amongst them.

Over the three years following her arrival, she became the Temple's guardian, protecting those inside and warding off any with evil intentions. Thus far, the Temple has yet to be disgraced by the like of evil, and likely never will, while it I under Erika's protection.

* * *

**Author's notes: **A little fun fact here, Erika is also one of my many Roleplaying characters. On top of that, she's my favorite. Her powers and skills vary depending on the Rp, but her personality never waivers, and where applicable, she will ALWAYS have the Blue Dragon Crescent moon. Also, if magic is allowed, she will always control wind.

And you guys should note that she was a character _before_ I watched Azumnga Daioh. I was shocked when I saw Sakaki, in that she's pretty close to the same overall character design, apart from being at ease with showing skin (which Sakaki doesn't seem to be, aside from bathing suits).

Anyway, my next project is the next chapter to Behind the Wheel, so heads up for that in the next few days (if I'm lucky).


	21. Chapter 18: Angenheim

"And then... we found you." Minamo finished off the tale on that note. However, she had the foresight to leave out the Legend of Ragnarok. She felt that, considering the situation, and what happened to all the past Arbiters, that it would be best for the girls to hear it from someone who knew the whole story.

"Wow..." the girls said in unison.

"I would very much like to meet this Erika... she seems..." Sakaki seemed to trail off, and Kagura finished the thought for her.

"She seems awesome! Maybe we can learn some things from her!" Tomo laughed.

"Maybe_you_ could learn a few things. _I_on the other hand, have no need for training. Hell, I could probably take her on with one arm tied behind my back." Minamo simply sighed, and put a hand on her forehead.

"Tomo, having met the woman myself, I can say that your head couldn't be further up your ass." Everyone was shocked at their usually calm P.E. teacher's choice of words. "In the short time that me and Yukari were taught by her, we couldn't _once_ get a hit in. As far as we know, there isn't a single fighting style or weapon Erika hasn't mastered. On top of that, you remember how I said that all magic users are limited to a single element or field, _with a few exceptions_? Well, Erika happened to be one of those exceptions." Tomo was silent for a moment, before she rose to her feet.

"I guess I'll have to wait until I meet her then. But, I'm feeling energetic right now-"

"What else is new..." Yomi interjected.

"Hey! Anyway, I'd like to see these 'skills' of yours, Nyamo!"

"Tomo, don't be an idiot..." Yomi said.

"Yeah, now probably isn't-" Tomo cut off the warnings.

"No, you guys saw me back there! I kicked ass! I think these teachers here are yankin' our chains! Whaddaya say Nyamo? A spar, you and me?"

"Tomo, I wouldn't if I were you..." This time, it was Yukari that was warning her. The rest of the girls noticed Minamo was beginning to lose her cool, and the temperature of the clearing seemed to drop several degrees. They crawled back a bit, distancing themselves from their doomed classmate.

"Aw, come on... what's the matter? Think I'll embarrass you?" That was the last straw. Minamo looked up and stared Tomo in the eyes. She slowly got to her feet.

"Alright, Tomo. Give me your best shot. Hell, use your swords if you want, I don't mind." Minamo stood there casually. Tomo glanced around questioningly. Then she shrugged, whipped out her short swords, and dashed straight at her teacher.

No one was quite sure what happened next, but it went something like this. Tomo charged in, swords ready to strike. Minamo crouched low, and caugt Tomo's arm as she brought it down to attack. In a flash, she spun around and flipped Tomo over her shoulder, disarming the girl at the same time. Tomo landed on her back on the ground. As she struggled to get to her feet, Minamo shoved her onto the ground, in a sitting position. They locked eyes for a moment, and Tomo tried to rise again. However, her rear was frozen firmly to the ground. Tomo crossed her arms and pouted.

"Cheap..."

"Now that that's taken care of, you girls should get some sleep. We have a lot of traveling ahead of us," Minamo said. The girls obeyed, and shifted around so they would be more comfortable around the fire. All except Sakaki that is. She stood up and pulled Minamo off to the side.

"Kurosawa-sensei, I have a few questions."

"Go ahead."

"Well, first, I thought we were supposed to meet with a group of Resistance fighters? That was what Dedalus had said." Minamo frowned.

"It seems that the Resistance has its share of moles. There was a group of fighters, but they had been killed by the men who attacked you earlier," Sakaki suppressed her feelings of shock.

"Then... where will we go?"

"To Angenheim. Yukari and I stumbled upon the leader on the way to find you. He told us the way. We will go there and meet with him, and him alone. He knows of the moles, and would prefer to meet you girls in private."

"Why us, Kurosawa-sensei? Why are we so important?"

"That is something I can't tell you. All I know myself is that you have some role to play in aiding this world. A large one." She paused, before turning Sakaki back to the fire. "Get some sleep, you're tired."

* * *

The entire trip took nearly four days. The first day was relatively easy. The girls took their time walking along a weathered forest path, with their teachers leading the way. Tomo annoyed Yukari often, which led to Yukari nearly roasting her alive. Yomi, Chiyo, and Kagura questioned Minamo about all sorts of things, ranging from their knowledge of the world, to basic things like who they had met.

Ayumu concentrated on honing her telekinetic abilities, and often ended up accidentally hitting others in the head with rocks. No one could figure out why, but every single time it was always in the same place on the backs of their heads.

Sakaki was silent most of the time, content to simply enjoy the scenery. However, in her head, much more was going on. She had taken to questioning Ragnarok, or rather, its consciousness. Most of what she learned from it was more advanced combat techniques (defensive, mostly, as per her request), but she did also become fairly proficient in the Altairian language.

Kaori contented herself with walking at Sakaki's side, idly marveling at her beauty and the assertive aura that surrounded her. She noticed the far-off look in her tall friend's eyes and, while she did wonder what was going on in Sakaki's head, she largely left her to her own devices. Later on in the day, Kaori shifted to inspecting the bow and its arrows, getting to know them. At the same time, she mourned the death of Kaela Kotone, her short-lived mentor and protector.

On the second day of the journey, the road became a mountain path. Narrow and rocky, it made the going a lot slower and tougher. Sakaki, Yomi, Kagura, and the two teachers were fine, for the most part, but soon Chiyo, Tomo, and Ayumu found themselves running out of breath, and falling behind. Luckily though, the others weren't against to giving piggy-back rides.

On the last day, the girls were about to give up. While they were quite fit in their own right, they were all getting exhausted by the end of the trip, even Sakaki and Kagura. This was due in part to the teachers' unrelenting regiment of 6 hours of sleep, one of eating, and the rest hiking. However, despite all this, the girls eventually arrived at the spectacular fortress of Angenheim. Or at least, that's what it went by. They never actually got to see the entire thing from the outside, because they were stopped short by a very important person.

"Hold up, girls," Minamo said, holding up a hand. "We're being watched." On cue, a single man appeared from behind a boulder up ahead. He was clad in silver armor, with red lining and cloth underneath. At his side was a longsword, the hilt red as well, with gold inlays. He gave off an aura of authority, and rightly so, as they would soon find out.

"You have a good eye, miss. Might I ask who you are?"

"I am Minamo Kurosawa. We were looking for-"

"Angenheim, yes. And I assume the rest of you bear the names Tanizaki, Mizuhara, Mihama, Oaru, Takino, Kasuga, and Nogawa?" Everyone was shocked. He knew all of their names! "However, I count nine of you, yet I only know eight names. Could this last person be who I think they are?"

Sakaki stepped forward, She had not heard her name, and through an urging by Rangarok, she knew she could trust this man.

"I am Sakaki Reiko."

"May I see your sword, Miss Reiko?" Sakaki looked to the teachers. Minamo nodded, and Yukari shrugged. Sakaki reached back, and pulled Ragnarok out of its sheath. The sun glinted off the blade beautifully, and Sakaki noticed a distant sparkle in the man's eyes.

"It is an honor to finally meet you, Miss Sakaki Reiko. I am Connor Alamar, leader and founder of the Resistance."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Just a short chapter to let you know I AM STILL ALIVE! I won't go into details, but to sum it all up: exams, essays, and work. That is all.

Anyway, I'll try to update Behind the Wheel soon too. It's good to be back, guys!


	22. Chapter 19: Varrus

**Opening words:** Not much to say here. I've given up all hope of maintaining a fixed schedule (due to life in general), so the chapters will come when they come. Sorry.

* * *

"I apologize for all this secrecy, but due to recent events, it is needed until we ensure that there are no more traitors among us," Connor said, anger seeping through his voice, despite trying to hide it. The girls had seen no one so far, and had been lead through many hallways lined with torches, all which looked the same, for what seemed like hours.

"Where are we going?" asked Kagura.

"I'm taking you to meet Master Varrus, my master-of-arms, and the best smith in the Resistance, by far. I trust him completely; we have been friends and comrades for many years." He chuckled. "He can be a bit strange at times, but he's a good man." On cue, the group rounded a corner and found themselves facing a large wooden door, with detailed metal framework. Connor took a step forward and rapped a fist against the door.

"Varrus! Open up, you bearded fool!" Silence followed briefly, before the door sprung open, revealing a rather intimidating man. He was not overly tall, but he had large arms, fitting for one who works with iron. He wore no shirt, so the girls could tell he was not one to pick a fight with. However, from the number of scars on his chest and arms, ranging in size and shape, not many seemed to care. His face was covered partially by a big, full beard, though not long enough to get in the way of anything. His skin was tanned, but it was hard to tell by the large amount of soot covering him. Even his pants, which appeared to be green at one time, were stained black in most areas.

"Connor! You great oaf! It's been too long since you've come to see me!" In two great strides, Varrus swooped over and embraced Connor in a tight bear hug, lifting his feet off the ground.

"Varrus-! Put me down you damned Vulcan! You'll… strangle me!" Connor said, through ragged breaths. Varrus held on for a moment, before releasing him. He then seemed to notice the nine women standing behind Connor.

"Ah! And you've brought guests! Had you told me, I'd have put something on. Who are all these lovely ladies?" he said, eyeing everyone up.

"These girls, and their teachers, are very important." Connor pointed to each of the girls as he mentioned them.

"Chiyo Mihama."

"Nice to meet you!" Chiyo said, with her traditional cute smile.

"Kagura Oaru."

"Yo," Kagura said, with a short wave.

"Tomo Takino."

"'Sup," replied Tomo, trying to look cool.

"Koyomi Mizuhara."

"Hello," she said, with a short bow.

"Ayumu Kasuga."

"Pleased to meet you," she said, with a blank smile.

"Kaori Aida."

"Hi!" Kaori replied.

"Yukari Tanizaki."

"Hmph," Yukari didn't even offer a smile.

"Minamo Kurosawa."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Minamo said, with a short bow. Before Connor could introduce Sakaki, Varrus was on one knee before Minamo, in a low, respectful bow. He took her hand and kissed it.

"The pleasure is all mine, lady Kurosawa." Minamo blushed fiercely, and giggled slightly.

"Ahem, Varrus?" Connor tapped a foot against the ground. Varrus stood up, looking embarrassed. "Thank you. The last here is Sakaki Reiko, wielder of the legendary sword, Ragnarok." Varrus' eyes widened, and he bowed again, this time to Sakaki.

"It is an honor to meet you." He suddenly looked around, then back to his room. "Oh! You must be tired. Please, come inside and sit!" Varrus stood aside, and lead the girls inside. Connor was the last to enter, and stopped to have a word with him before entering.

"Your wife would be rolling in her grave, you know."

"Ahh, lay off. You know how she was. She'd rather see me enjoying myself than grieve for her constantly. That's not how she wanted to be remembered."

"Just watch yourself. They are our guests after all."

"Yeah, yeah…" Varrus said, heading into his room.

The room was massive, a large cavern in the mountain. It was divided in half; one half was his workshop, with numerous forges, and countless racks of unfinished weapons, and iron ingots. The floor was simply the floor of the cavern, flattened out enough to be comfortable. The other half of the cavern was completely different; made out to be his living quarters. It had a wooden floor, built a half a foot above the cavern floor, numerous private rooms sectioned off along the sides by curtains, which everyone presumed to be the bathrooms and bedrooms. There were four of these. In the middle of this area was a long table, which could seat at least ten people, and near that, a set of counters with cabinets above and below, and a large oven; the kitchen. Hanging from the roof in the center of the cavern was a large lantern, ten times the size of a normal one. It lit the room to near bay-like brightness.

"Please, make yourselves at home. There's food in the cupboards if you're hungry; beds if you're tired, and a bathroom for, well, you know." Varrus turned to Sakaki. "Sakaki, if I may, could I see the sword?"

"No one but me has been able to wield it without being shocked…" Sakaki said, a little hesitantly. Kagura must've overheard them, as she added her own input.

"Hurts like a bitch too."

"Then, please, simply show me?" Varrus asked again. Sakaki shrugged, and pulled the sword out of it's sheath, carrying it over to Varrus. She held it out so he could see it, one hand on the grip and one on the flat of the blade halfway down, holding it horizontally. Varrus looked closely at the sword, and ran his hands along the length of the blade. It didn't give him a shock however, but that made sens as no one could wield a sword by the blade.

"Aahhhh… so I finally get to see the great Sword of Legends. I never thought I'd live to see it…" The sword's blade chose that moment to shine brilliantly in the light of the giant lantern on the ceiling. "The perfect blade…" Varrus then placed a finger near the edge of the blade and flicked it, just barely nicking the sharp edge. But, that was enough to cause a rather large cut on the end of his finger.

"So sharp! If you please, let me try one more thing. Hold the sword point to the ground like this," he said, showing the motion. Sakaki did the same. Varrus then picked a small hammer off one of his workbenches, and rapped it against the flat of the blade, causing it to vibrate. "Now, flip It around and press the pommel to the floor."

Sakaki did as she was bid, and then something occurred that no one in the room had expected, nor experienced before. A tone issued forth from the sword, so loud it caused many of them to cover their ears. It was like a giant tuning fork, yet the sound was pure, perfect. It was almost as if there were several tones working in harmony to produce such a beautiful, however loud sound. It took several minutes to die away.

"What was that?" Connor asked, bewildered.

"That was an technique the smiths of old used to test the quality of a blade. Yet… I've never heard anything so loud… so pure…" He stood up, and nodded to Sakaki, who sheathed the sword. "That blade, Ragnarok, truly is the sword of swords. The perfect blade." There was a moment of silence, before a door opened at the far end of the room, opposite the one they had entered. From it, a young woman, no older than the girls themselves, stepped forward.

She was of average height and build. Her face was perfect, no blemish or irregularity could be found, and her eyes were large and beautiful, and her hair was shoulder length and black. She wore a simple blue dress, which fell to her ankles.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting…?"

"No, m'dear, you are not. Please, come in." The girl nodded, and reached back through the door, bringing a large cart loaded with food along with her. She wheeled it to the center of the living area, right beside the long table. She began laying out the many dishes, setting places for everyone in the room at the same time. Varrus looked around, and noticed all eyes on him. Connor made a gesture towards the girl.

"Where are my manners. Everyone, this is my daughter, Veronica." Veronica stopped setting the table long enough to bow.

"Nice to meet you all," she said, before resuming her duties.

"She's a wonderful cook; you'll sleep well tonight."

"And tomorrow, you will set out again," Connor said, finally bringing the plan to the surface.

"What? Again? But I thought we were supposed to help you guys…" Kagura whined. Everyone half agreed; they were all tired from their journey.

"You will be little help as you are now, I'm afraid. You will rest here tonight, and set out tomorrow for training. I believe Minamo and Yukari know your teachers." The two nodded. However, Tomo was not convinced.

"The hell? We fought our way out of Enwich, and we aren't skilled enough?"

"Tomo, not again…" Yomi pleaded.

"If you wish for a demonstration, then I'll gladly show you," Connor said, resting a hand on the hilt of the longsword at his side. Tomo smirked and, as usual, charged forward with her shortswords out and ready.

A metallic ring, followed by a quick crash as metal met metal sounded. Then, Tomo's cry as she lost balance, followed by another crash as she fell heavily on her back, Connor's sword at her throat. All this happened in the space of a few seconds.

"U-uncle…" Tomo struggled. Connor was the one to smirk this time, displaying a mischievous smile of his own, before it vanished. He sheathed his sword and turned to the others.

"I am sorry, but I must depart. I have important matters to attend to. I leave them in your care, Varrus. They are our honored guests; treat them as such, old friend."

"Have no fear, Connor," he said. Connor nodded. He bowed to the girls, though Sakaki in particular, before heading out through the door Veronica entered through. The girls all had their eyes on him as he departed, and didn't notice the table.

"Dinner is served," said a soft voice behind them. They all turned to see the entire long table was covered with dishes of delicious looking food, ranging in all kinds of shapes and colors. Veronica seemed pleased at their approving looks.

"Eat as much as you like." That was all the encouragement anyone needed.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Two new characters today. A quick note: that thing Varrus did with the sword, it is a real technique. Take a real iron forged sword, and it will produce that sort of result (though not on that caliber). Though, it is hard to find swords like that these days.

Anyway, hope you're enjoying the story so far; cause there's much, _much_ more to come!


	23. Chapter 20: Departure

Over dinner, the girls told Varrus their tales; how they came to be here, Kaorin's capture and subsequent rescue by Sakaki, the others' capture by the pirates, and rescue by Dedalus, the escape from Enwich, Kayla's death, the Teachers' training, and everyone's eventual arrival here in Angenheim. Varrus was terribly pained to hear of Kayla's death; apparently they were good friends at one point.

"So, you're all here from another world, and all of you, without training, are as confident a fighter as any, even more-so than some?" Varrus asked. "If it weren't for Ragnarok staring me in the face, I'd say you're all spouting nonsense!"

"Father! So rude in front of our guests!"

"Oh come now, Veronica, I'm only kidding. Seriously though, that is quite a story. Many would not have survived half of what you went through. And better yet, magic has made an appearance more than once in your group; Ayumu, with her telekinesis, Yukari with her fire, and Minamo with her...?" He left the phrase open, having forgotten the answer.

"Ice," Minamo replied.

"Ice… a beautiful power…"

"Father…"

"Right, right, sorry." Varrus chuckled. "In any case, if the fate of the world rests on your collective shoulders, well, I think I can rest easy." All the girls seemed to blush at once.

"Father." Veronica seemed to be nodding towards the forge.

"Wha…? Oh yes! How could I have forgotten!" He stood up from the table, and looked over the girls, excluding Minamo and Yukari, who this didn't seem to concern. "Seeing you all now, all doubt in my mind about your adventures thus far is gone, yet I am still in shock about the fact that you'd all made it 

by without any armor whatsoever. As such, I would like to offer you all a gift. A set of armor, custom tailored and made personally by me for each of you."

All the girls' faces lit up. Their own armor! Granted, a week or so ago they would have laughed at the idea. Ayumu was the first to speak up. "But, mistah Varrus, don't Yukari and Nyamo get any?" Varrus simply chuckled.

"M'dear, they already have armor. Enchanted too, by the looks of it." He looked to Minamo and Yukari, who nodded. "I thought so. Anyway, you girls just strip down then, and we'll take measurements!" Varrus said, with a clap of his massive blacksmith's hands.

"…" Every girl's mouth dropped open, a look of combined shock and terror on their faces.

"Father!" Veronica yelled, as she whacked him in the back of his head with her hand. "In the presence of guests!"

"Aiee! Sorry! I was only kidding!" Varrus said, clutching the back of his head. He composed himself, before speaking again. "Veronica's gonna take the measurements. Once we finish eating, I'll close off a section for ya."

Two hours passed, during which dinner was finished, and many measurements taken. But, since it was veronica taking the measurements and not Varrus himself, the situation was made a whole lot less awkward. Oh, and Varrus swooned over Minamo a lot as well. Shortly afterwards, it was decided that sleep would be the best option, for they were to leave the next day, as they were told by Connor.

--

"Good luck on your travels, girls! See you soon, I hope!" Varrus said, as the nine of them walked down the old mountain path, Connor leading the way. They had been woken up by him early in the morning, so that they could make it through the mountain unhindered. Apparently, the entire mountain was 

honeycombed with tunnels, and this one had brought them to the far side, to an old road rarely travelled. It was an escape route for the Resistance, should they ever need it.

"This is where we part, girls," Connor said. He extended a hand to Minamo, and then Yukari, who both shook it. "From here, follow the road; it will go north as it descends from the mountains, before cutting east into the forest below. From there, go north again until you reach the desert. Skirt the edge of the desert and you will find the place which you seek at the end. I wish you safe on your travels. Good luck."

After saying their goodbyes, the group parted ways with Connor, and started their long trek down the mountains.

"Hey, Kurosawa-sensei? You never did tell us where we're going…" Kaori asked, after a while.

"Remember that place we told you about when we first met up? We're going to see Raul. He wants to train you, and knows about as much about this land and its legends as anyone could."

"Oh… seems like it could be a long trip then…" Kaori replied. Not that she minded, really, it gave her more time with her idol, Sakaki. Currently, the taller girl walked at the head of the group, alone. And she would remain there for several hours, before the path left the mountains partly, bordering now on a cliff that dropped off into a vast forest below. Silently, Sakaki climbed up onto a large rock that dominated one of the gradual turns in the path. She looked out over the forest, her hair blowing dramatically in the wind.

"Whoa! What an awesome view!" Kagura exclaimed, as she ran up to join Sakaki's side. Sure enough, everyone else followed, except for Chiyo, who was a little hesitant to jump up onto the rock, which seemed to jut out from the cliff face as well.

"Umm… guys… I don't think this is a good idea…"



"C'mon, Chiyo-chan! The view's great!" Ayumu said, taking the smaller girl's hand. Unsteady though she was, Chiyo relented, and stepped onto the giant stone.

That was when a loud crack reverberated through the mountains, originating from the rock.

"That… didn't sound good…" Tomo said, looking down at her feet. Without warning, the whole rock gave way, sending everyone aboard plummeting into the forest below.

--

**Author's Notes:** Alright, I know I've been absent for a while. Blame school, and lack of motivation. Anyway, this chapter's short for two reasons: one, I'm basically letting you know I'm still here, and two, this was about as far as I could get before my hands started cramping up (stupid essays, bleh).

Up next on the to-do list is Behind the Wheel.


	24. Chapter 21: The Meera

**A Few Opening Words:** Alright, since I suck at keeping a straight schedule, I'm not gonna bother trying. Sorry.

--

Several hours later, at which time the sun had fallen low on the horizon, Kaori regained consciousness. The first thing she noticed was that she was not on the ground, but rather stuck in a tree, in a very uncomfortable position. Her clothes were slightly torn from the fall, and other than a whole lot of bruises she was relatively unharmed from the fall. The first thing she did was get her bearings.

Kaori was in a tree, that had already been established. And, in this tree, she was roughly twenty feet above the ground. That could be a problem. Around her, there were many other trees; it was a forest, after all. As she struggled to get into a position in which she could maneuver her way down the tree, Kaori heard… _something._ Listening closely, it almost sounded like a few people speaking, yet in a foreign, probably native language. Needless to say, she could not understand anything. And, it was coming from nearby.

Kaori realized that the limb she was currently on was actually quite large; it could probably support her weight even if she moved further out on the branch. Since it would likely give her a better view of what was speaking. At least, she assumed it was speaking. It was a perilous journey up the length of the branch, but soon enough, she was able to see what lay in the nearby clearing… and it caused her to freeze.

The first thing Kaori noticed was the rock they had been standing on before it fell. Now that she had a good view, she realized just how big it was. At least twice the size of her house! The next thing was the bodies of her friends, strewn about nearby where it had fallen. Luckily, none of them appeared to have any broken bones; the only injuries being a few scrapes. Even so, the fact that they were unconscious – she hoped – wasn't a good thing, especially considering the next thing Kaori noticed.

In the clearing, the source of the strange speaking turned out to be a group of… well, Kaori wasn't sure what they were. They looked at first to be human, but at the same time, they had… cat features - ears, tails, and fur covering their bodies. The patterns reminded Kaori of various wildcats; leopards, tigers, jaguars, and such, they were all different. Even their faces had a slight snout to them. They were also 

not wearing any clothes, and shared human anatomy in that regard, as she could see both males and females. They also appeared to be very lean, and strong, apparent by their athletic frames.

Kaori kept her head down, making sure not to be seen. There were seven such beings, and all of them were armed. Two of them held long sharp spears, and the others had large bows, much like hers which, thankfully, hadn't broken in the fall, and had remained on her back, as had her quiver and arrows. That didn't make her feel any more at ease though; by the looks of them, the cat-people were likely very skilled warriors.

Before Kaori was able to analyze them any further, one of them, with jet black fur, seemed to bark out an order. The other six quickly complied with that order, and went about collecting her friends, carrying them all over their shoulders or under their arms (two had to carry two, which proved her theory on how strong they were). Kaori could only watch as her friends were taken away. To where, she didn't know, but she could not follow the cat-people. One, they would more than likely discover her, being creatures of the forest, and two, she still had yet to get down from the tree.

"Shit…" Kaori muttered. "This is not good… what do I do…" Kaori sat down heavily on a fallen rock. What _could_ she do? There were far more of those cat-people than there were of her, and one would probably be enough for stop her. "Sakaki… Kagura… Yomi… Chiyo…. All of them… taken captive, or worse…" Kaori felt her eyes beginning to water up. It wasn't only because of this, but because she remembered her own time spent in captivity, and the hell she went through. She hoped that that's not what her friends would get…

"No," she said, suddenly. "I have to do something. I will save them." _I will save Sakaki-san,_ she added, in her head. Kaori wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. She stood again, and pulled her bow off her back. "I'm the only one who can…"

--

It had been at least an hour since she left the clearing, and now, Kaori was lost. She had originally set off in the direction the cat-people had gone, but now, she had no idea of where she was. She couldn't find which way was north, nor could she see the sky through the canopy. The forest was now so dense, as was the underbrush, that it was hard to walk normally.

Kaori silently wished she was one of the cat-people – in species anyway – because they were definitely more agile and strong than humans by look alone. And, they likely had better senses, like sight, smell, hearing, that sort of thing. These increased senses would make it easier to track her friends and their captors, as well as alert her to the dangers of the forest, such as one particular being who was tracking her.

Before Kaori even knew what was happening, she threw herself backwards – rather, her body did – barely dodging a large arrow that impacted the tree beside her, where her head had been a moment earlier. She rolled to her feet, and without even thinking, she turned and fired off an arrow into the brush. She was rewarded with a pained cry, that didn't sound human. Her mind still had yet to catch up, when one of the aforementioned cat-people lunged out of a nearby bush, spear raised and aimed at her.

However, Kaori did not need to do anything except cringe, as a yellowish blur shot by, intercepting the attacker just before the spear hit its intended target. Kaori tried to follow the movements, but the blur was too fast. The first attacker was subdued instantly, unconscious, before two more appeared. However, the blur took care of them as well, with what she took to be a flying kick followed by some form of sleeper hold on the last one.

A moment later, Kaori felt herself being picked up by something human-like, yet covered in yellow fur, with spots similar to a cheetah or leopard, as she was whisked along through the forest at an incredible rate. It didn't take long to figure out that she had been rescued by a cat-person, a female one at that, as was apparent by the furry breast pressing up against her face. She would have struggled, but once she realized just how fast this creature was propelling her, Kaori realized that would be a very bad idea.

It wasn't a long trip, ten minutes at most, most of which were spent with Kaori trying to avoid the breast in her face. However, nearing the end, her savior seemed to use the trees to climb, before unceremoniously dumping her on the floor of a small hut, high in the branched of a particularly large tree. Kaori looked around; it was a humble home. A simple hammock for a bed, a small table and stool, and a few shelves here and there with various items cluttered about on it. Before she had a chance to find her savior again, she was pinned to the floor by that very person.

Kaori cringed, fearing the worst, but then she realized that no pain was coming. Opening her eyes, she found the cat-woman staring down at her with golden eyes, scanning her for possible wounds. Finding none, she rolled off Kaori and to her feet, and then waited, leaning against one wall, with a spear next to her. Kaori stood slowly, and admired the female's slender, yet powerful form. There was no doubt in her mind that this creature would beat Sakaki easily in athletics.

A few other things she noted were a pair of wristbands, which were blood red bordered by gold, as well as a matching headband. Other than that, like those Kaori had seen before, she wore no clothes. Kaori found herself not blushing at this though; perhaps it was because the fur covered most of the essentials, or because it was probably the norm for the species. Either way, it was what it was.

"So…" Kaori started, having found her voice. "Who… what are you?" As it turned out, this being could speak her language, apparently called that of the Resistance. When she answered it was with a heavy native accent, and a somewhat raspy voice.

"I am Sireah. Queen of Meera."

--

**Author's Notes: **Again, summer brought many things. Updates will come, but no schedule. Sorry!


	25. Chapter 22: The Sorceress

"I am Sireah. Queen of Meera." Kaori remained silent for a moment, staring up at the being. She was a _Queen_! Royalty. Kaori had to stop and think for a moment; she wasn't sure what to do around royalty. However, one question glared in her mind.

"Um… Miss Sirea… if you're the Queen… then why did you attack the other meera…?" The meeran queen didn't even hesitate.

"Difficult matters," she said. "You travel with Arbiter. One who wields the Ragnarok, yes?"

Kaori nodded. Sireah must have seen the sword…

"Then time is short." Sireah looked to the floor, one of her hands on her chin as if in deep thought. "You can fight?" she asked, after a while. It caught Kaori a little off guard.

"F-fight? Um… yes…" She held up her bow – the one entrusted to her by Kaela – and nodded.

"Good. Then you help. Merra have your friends prisoner-"

"Hold up. I thought you were their Queen?" Sireah sighed.

"They under control of Malacath. Not my own anymore." She met Kaori's eyes with hers, and that seemed to quell any other argument. "It was like this since he came. I was shunted out, betrayed. Now, revenge. We will free your friends, and I will have my revenge." Silence ensued once more, before Kaori dipped her head, and nodded.

"First, we plan. Scout. Foolish to attack now. Soon, though, we will. You must be ready to kill, girl." Sireah glanced up to Kaori now, to confirm that she'd be able to support her.

"Kaori Aida."

"Hm?" Sireah cocked her head to the side.

"My name is Kaori Aida, not 'girl'."

--

"God damnit, we're prisoners _again_!" It was Tomo's annoyed outburst that brought Sakaki back to the conscious world. She quickly realized that Tomo was right, and that the presence she had come to recognize as that of the sword Ragnarok, was gone. "I can't believe this! Some heroes you guys are..."

"Shut it, Tomo, you're in here too you know!"

"So? There's eight of you and one of me. Figure it out!"

"_What_ does that even mean?!" Looking around, Sakaki found that she was in a small cage, much like a birdcage, suspended several feet above the ground. The others were all in the same predicament, their cages hung by thick rope in a semi-circle around the forest clearing. Chiyo, Yomi, Tomo, Yukari, Ayumu, Minamo, and Kagura; all had been stripped of their weapons and armor, all of which was in a large pile in the center of the clearing. But one thing was missing...

"Where's Kaori...?" Sakaki asked, speaking up for the first time.

"I didn't see her when I came to," Kagura replied. "And I was the first to awake. So, either she woke up before all of us and escaped before the cat-creatures captured us... or she's buried beneath the rubble..." Sakaki nodded grimly. None of them wished that fate upon their friend, but there wasn't much they could do at the moment.

"Hey guys... they're coming back..." Chiyo announced, almost at a whisper. Sure enough, six cat-people warriors entered the clearing, and took up defensive positions near the cages. This was, of course, the first time Sakaki had seen them. Had they not been carrying weapons and sneering, they might have been cute.

After all six had taken their positions, one more entered. This one was female (the others were very obviously male), and wore a red headband and arm bands, signifying her as some sort of leader. She was also different from the others, in that her fur was all one color, solid black, whereas theirs all had patterns.

The black-furred catwoman circled the clearing once, eyeing each of the captives with her yellow eyes. She stopped finally at Sakaki, and grinned. At least, that's what Sakaki figured it was.

"You are Arbiter, yes?" She spoke with a thick native accent, in a partly raspy voice, almost like she was half-hissing at the same time. Sakaki simply met her stare with one of equal malice, though she did not answer. The catwoman smirked, and headed to the pile of weapons. A small smile came to Sakaki's face. She knew what the cat was looking for, and what would happen when she found it...

However, to everyone's surprise, the catwoman pulled Ragnarok from it's sheath with ease, and walked back to face Sakaki. She appeared to be unaffected by the same shock Kaori – rather, everyone but Sakaki – received when they tried to wield the weapon.

"It is a mighty sword," she said, holding the blade vertical before her. "Powerful... the bane of all evil, yes?" She let out a light chuckle. "Pity it is useless while you are captive, Arbiter." The catwoman inspected the sword a moment longer, before returning it to it's sheath, and then to the pile. Then, she gave each girl one last look, before starting out of the clearing. However, that was when she seemed to pick up on something.

The catwoman did a double take, and scanned the prisoners again. Then, with an angry yell, she addressed the nearest warrior. She spoke quickly, in her native tongue. The unfortunate victim seemed visibly terrified as he answered in a somewhat shaky voice. After hearing whatever it was he had to say, the catwoman sneered again, and started heading back towards Sakaki.

Before she could get halfway, however, another warrior burst into the clearing and spoke with what seemed like great urgency. The catwoman was very surprised at whatever his announcement, and when it was done, she fired off a series of quick commands. Then, all at once, the cat woman left the clearing, leaving the girls guarded by six warriors.

--

"Only small amount is needed, and only small cut," Sireah instructed. "We do not want to kill, only incapacitate. If possible." The catwoman crouched on a high branch of a large tree beside Kaori, near the edge of the central Meeran village. Sireah had spent most of the day mixing a powerful sedative, almost strong enough to be called a poison, and that is what the two of them were to use. As it turned out, Sireah was also skilled with a bow of her own, which she now pulled off her back. The forsaken queen also took out one of her arrows – much shorter than Kaori's, as was her bow – and quickly dipped it in the small pouch that contained the viscous concoction.

Sireah then notched the arrow, took aim at the first Meeran warrior that passed by, and let the arrow fly. From her vantage point, Kaori couldn't even tell if it was a hit or not; it didn't even seem to have scratched the warrior. However, a moment after the arrow stuck into the ground behind him, the warrior let out a sharp his and stumbled forward a few steps, clutching the back of his right thigh. He seemed about ready to shout an alarm when he spotted the arrow, but before he could, he simply collapsed forward, completely unconscious. Kaori cast a glance down to the pouch secured to her belt.

"Whoa… pretty potent stuff…" She made sure that it was fastened tightly. "Plan?"

"You go right. Your friends will be a short distance from the village in a clearing. That is where we – _they_ – keep prisoners. I draw the guards away with distraction. Once they free, you flee the forest."

"But what about you?" Kaori replied.

"You. Flee." Kaori was about to plead for the queen to come with her, but she saw the look in her eyes. Determination, resolve… regret? Either way, Kaori realized there would be no convincing her otherwise. Kaori let out a short sigh and looked away for a moment.

"Good luck. And thank you, Sireah." The two locked eyes again, before Kaori slid down a nearby vine to the forest floor, and headed off in the indicated direction.

--

A thought ran through Sakaki's mind – why didn't Ayumu, Minamo, or Yukari use their magic to escape. Then she remembered, that question had been answered earlier. Some form of enchantment had been placed on the cages, which nullified any magic from both the inside or outside. A clever trick, though Sakaki couldn't remember seeing a sorcerer, or sorceress around.

The group did not have to wait long for the action to come to them, however. Just as Tomo was about to speak up again, a single arrow whistled out of the undergrowth of the forest, and skimmed one of the guard's arms. The creature only had time to sneer before he crumpled to the ground. The other five were instantly alert, scanning the edges of the clearing for their assailant. A second arrow flew from a different direction, dropping a second guard. Two more fell to the same fate, leaving only two remaining. They grouped together near the pile of weapons and armor in the center of the clearing.

At this point, Sakaki believed the Resistance must have sent out a team to help them. Everyone else had a similar thought in mind. So, when Kaori emerged from the tree-line, and dispatched the remaining two Meeran warriors with glancing blows – the same that had dropped all the others – everyone was caught completely off guard.

"Kaori! You're alright!" Sakaki exclaimed, as shte shorter girl scanned the clearing with an arrow drawn. Once she was sure it was safe, Kaori spoke her answer.

"Yeah… I'm fine." Kaori quickly made her way over to Sakaki's cage. She used her knife to cut the rope that held it up. As a result, the cage, and Sakaki, came crashing down. The cage was unable to withstand the force of the drop, which caused it to break open enough for it's occupant to climb out.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" Kaori exclaimed, as she wrapped her arms around Sakaki tightly. Sakaki was taken aback, and even blushed a little, but her eyes wandered back to what still needed to be done.

"K-Kaori… the others…"

"Oh… Right, sorry…" Kaori, blushing furiously, released the taller girl and headed to the next cage to release Kagura. Sakaki quickly retrieved Ragnarok from the pile of weaponry, and strapped the scabbard to her back, and felt the familiar presence return to the back of her mind as she pulled the blade from its sheath. After taking a moment to inspect the bare blade, Sakaki started at the other end of the ring of cages.

Once the two girls realized the ropes could just be untied, releasing their friends became a whole lot less traumatizing. So, a few minutes later, everyone was free, and rearmed with their preferred weapons.

"So tell us, Kaorin, how'd you do it?" Tomo demanded, tightening the belt that held her swords.

"Well, I had some help… Sireah, a catwoman like them," she said, gesturing at the fallen warriors. "She's apparently their queen or something."

"Wait… while we were captice, we got interrogated by the Queen…" Yomi scratched her head. "One of them's lying."

"In any case, Sireah went to the main village to hold them off, and cause a distraction so I could get here. Those I shot aren't dead, only unconscious." It was then that Kaori turned and started off in the direction the 'Queen' had taken a while earlier.

"Wait, where are you going?" Tomo asked. "We gotta get going before those creatures come back for us!"

"I'm not leaving her there to die!" Kaori replied, desperation in her voice. "She saved my life. I owe her that much." Without leaving any room for more argument, she ran off down the small path, leaving the others to make their decision. Sakaki was first to come to a conclusion.

"I'm going," she announced, and a moment later, all eight were heading down the path as well.

--

"Sorya."

"Sireah…"

Two catwomen, clothed only in matching red armbands and headbands circled each other in the center of the village. A ring of Meeran warriors surrounded them, unsure of what to do. The black furred on, Sorya, was the current reigning Queen, while Sireah was the previous one, ousted, apparently, by Sorya.

"Don't expect to live through this," Sorya said, holding her spear at the ready.

"I don't. I only plan to kill you first," Sireah countered, sneering. The leopard-furred Meera held her own spear in a much more aggressive stance, displaying more obvious skill than her opponent. She then launched herself at Sorya, closing the distance nigh instantly just as Kaori burst through the tree line with the others close behind. They were immediately surrounded by the Meeran warriors, but Yukari and Minamo covered that. They put on a brief display of their powers, causing the Meera to keep their distance.

"Sireah!" Kaori called out. The two Queens separated from each other, both breathing heavily. They both had wounds as well, though Sorya's were more numerous.

"I told you not to come back!" Sireah replied, keeping her eyes on Sorya.

"Stay out of this!" Sorya hissed. She then turned towards the girls and, in a blur of motion, hurled the spear at Kaori, catching everyone off guard. Everyone except Yukari, however, who stepped in between Kaori and the missile with a raised hand. Instead of hitting her, the weapon instead burst into flames, and all that hit her was a small cloud of ash. In retaliation, she formed a fireball in the other hand, and threw it at the black furred Meera.

Again catching everyone off guard, Sorya raised her own hand into the path of the new projectile. The moment it connected with the palm of her hand, it disappeared with a slight hissing sound, and she closed her hand afterwards.

"Meera cannot use magic…" Sireah said, slowly, as she studied the other in a new light. "Nor can we dispel it." The Meeran warriors who, a moment ago, had been focusing on Sireah and the girls as their enemy, turned to face Sorya.

"What? Sireah, what does this mean?" Kaori asked from the sidelines.

"She is not Meera," Sireah replied, calmly, as if she had always known. "I knew this from the start, but I had no way to prove it. Her scent is strange, not Meeran, but that can be masked or altered; not enough proof."

At this point, everyone was confused. It made sense what Sireah was saying, since Sorya dispelled the fireball, and was able to wield Ragnarok without receiving a shock, through some sort of spell most likely. The only issue was that she looked Meeran. It didn't add up.

"You lie!" Sorya hissed, though it seemed even she knew it was futile. She briefly looked around the ring of warriors, leaving a tiny opening that Sireah pounced on, literally. She lunged forward, quickly pinning the black furred imposter.

"What are you?" she demanded. Sorya looked her in the eye, and all of a sudden, her expression changed. She grinned. Then, before anyone could react, Sireah was blasted backwards by a powerful pulse of purple energy, emanating from the space between her and Sorya. She landed a good 15 feet back, her fur lightly smoking. She writhed on the ground for a moment, clearly in great pain, before she was able to at least roll onto her side.

"Well, it seems I've overstayed my welcome…" The voice came from Sorya, yet the heavy Meeran accent was absent. She sounded normal, human, though a little sarcastic. All eyes went back to her as she stood, dusting herself off. She no longer even acted Meeran, ignoring all of the mannerisms everyone had come to recognize as a staple of the race. "Too bad. It was kinda fun while it lasted."

"I'm confused… who the hell is she?" Yukari demanded, scratching her head.

Sorya smirked. "I don't see why I should answer that, _Yukari_. You weren't very cooperative earlier, after all.

"How did she know my name…?"

"She can use magic." The voice was Sireah's. She had struggled to her feet, clutching her burnt side.

"The cat is correct, though, my power is limited in this form…" Sorya cleared her throat. She then pressed the palms of her hands together, and a bright purple light engulfed her, so bright that it forced everyone to look away or be blinded. Once the light dimmed, there was no longer a black furred Meera standing there, but instead a woman with shoulder length black hair, golden eyes, and a face that Kaori recognized instantly. The woman wore a black form-fitting suit of light armor, made of leather most likely, and a blood red cloak over top.

"Kaela…?" Kaori whispered. The woman let out a short laugh, apparently having heard her. Everyone could see the resemblance; Sorya looked exactly like their departed friend and ally, Kaela Kotone.

"Ah, so you _have _met my sister. Pity that… she met her end fighting for a lost cause."

"You mean…?"

"My full name is Sorya Kotone, child. Kaela was my twin sister, in blood only. The only thing I regret about her death is that I was not the one to cause it." She was serious, and the look on her face was testament to that.

"You hate your sister that much? Why? You're family!" Chiyo cried out.

"As I said, _in blood only_. She and I were completely different. The good twin, and the evil twin, if you will. She, and her parents were too soft, and that is why they are dead. So, I left. I wiped their memories before I did, many years before Kaela left. As far as any of them knew, Kaela was an only child."

"That's horrible."

"I don't have the time nor patience to be lectured by you brats. So, if you please, go ahead and die." Sorya raised her right hand, aiming it at the group. A fist sized ball of purple energy shot forward like a bullet – magic, in its purest form. The pulse was aimed at Chiyo, in the center of the group. However, before it could have its desired effect, the pulse was intercepted by the gleaming blade of Ragnarok. The sword sliced through the energy, causing it to break apart like shattered glass. Sakaki then lunged at the sorceress, swinging Ragnarok high over her right shoulder.

Sorya was seemingly not surprised by the turn of events; she seemed to have expected it. Another orb formed in her left hand, and she raised it to meet Sakaki's powerful vertical chop. Sword met energy with a loud crackle and flash of light, and when it dimmed, the two women were in a deadlock. Unlike the previous ball of energy, this one had not shattered, but instead stalled Ragnarok. Purple energy crackled around the spot where both met.

"You are indeed an interesting specimen, Sakaki Reiko," Sorya said. She leaned forward, so her face was mere inches from Sakaki's, as she held the mythical sword at bay to her left. "You will provide an entertaining hunt. Beware the next time we meet, _Arbiter_."

Then, Sorya shoved Sakaki back, and vanished in a bright flash of violet light, leaving behind nothing to mark her presence…

--

**Author's Notes: **Yes, I haven't completely given up writing, though it did seem like it for a while. Call it a slump or whatever, but coming up with good chapters that I like has taken _forever_. Now, at least, I'm getting stuff I like. You should see updates to my other stories soon as well.

Now, for the story related stuff:

OH NOES! Kaela has a sister! WHO SAW THAT COMING? Not me!


	26. Chapter 23: Mirage

"I cannot thank you enough for your help. Without it, I fear I would have failed to reveal that vile woman for what she is."

"You saved my life, and my friends'. I wasn't about to just leave you," Kaori replied. She and the group were standing together at the edge of the forest, with the wide open plains to their backs. Sireah, along with a pair of warriors, stood facing hem. It was an early morning, just after sunrise. The previous day, after Sorya was dealt with, had left the Queen with little time to chat. So, other than a few words here and there, this was the first time they were able to talk.

"Be that as it may, you have my gratitude, all of you. Because of you, I may once again lead my people, and fix the problems that woman created." Sireah then did something unexpected. She bowed, to everyone in the group. The silence that ensued lasted several minutes, and gave Kaori and her friends enough time to realize what this meant.

"She was likely sent by Malacath, by the Empire," Minami said, breaking the silence. "They will probably send soldiers."

"And we will be ready," Sireah replied, grinning.

"If you already plan to openly oppose Malacath, then why not join the Resistance? They need all the help they can get."

"I cannot. There is still much to do here. I must first regain the trust of my fellow Meera. That will take time, and only after can I work to rebuild what was destroyed through that woman's reign." Sireah shook her head. "I cannot see into the future, but I believe we shall fight together once more. Now go. You have a long journey ahead. North will take you to the Sand, and from there, you follow it to the mountains."

"Thank you again, Sireah." Kaori bowed, as did the others. "Be safe."

"You too, Kaori. You have a warrior's heart; I expect to hear great things about you, even in the forest." With a few more goodbyes and thank-you's exchanged, the girls finally turned their backs on the Meera and their forest, and started off across the grassy plains. Each had a pack full of supplies, prepared by the Meera, which would last them to their destination. So, all that mattered now was the open world ahead of them.

* * *

"Ugh… It's so hot…"

"Need… water…"

The desert. Their directions had said that once they reached the edge, they should head east. That was exactly what the girls did… until they were caught in what they assumed to be a freak sandstorm. Wandering through it in search of shelter, they managed to get themselves lost in the desert, with no vegetation in sight. At least they still knew to head east…

"Bah, quit complainin'," Yukari said. To everyone's great annoyance, she was completely unaffected by the heat. In fact, she was reveling in it. This was due to her affinity for fire, as explained by Minamo, who was currently being aided by her fiery college. Minamo's affinity for ice, so despite her suit, she was a lot worse off than the others. "It's just a little heat."

The rest were in similar situations. Chiyo was hitching a ride from Sakaki, Tomo was being helped along by Yomi, and Ayumu was doing the same with Kagura. All had stripped to the minimum amount of armor or clothing required to keep modesty, and were carrying the rest – or using it to provide a meager amount of shade. All except the teachers, who only had their suits of armor.

"Hey… there's something up ahead…" It was Ayumu, surprisingly. No one bothered to guess why she saw it first. Sure enough though, something was there. It wasn't clear enough to identify, yet, but it looked like a light blue shimmer on the horizon. A mirage, most likely, but it was something to work towards.

Getting to the mirage took longer than expected, and because of this, many began to believe it was a mirage after all. However, all it took was Kagura stumbling forward to test it out, to prove that their assumptions were wrong.

"H-hey girls! It's water! A real oasis!" she exclaimed, before dipping her hands in the refreshing, clear liquid. The others joined in without hesitation.

The oasis was something of an anomaly in itself. It was at least as large as a small lake, and ringed with tropical foliage and exotic fruits hanging from the branches of the trees. How all of this had survived out here in the scorching heat was a mystery – even more so considering the water was cool. This lead those who cared to believe that magic was afoot… the others simply stripped and dove in, all modesty forgotten for the time being.

Nearly an hour had passed by the time most of the girls had had their fill of swimming. It wasn't long before Kagura was the only one still in the water; the rest had returned to shore to dry off and get dressed, leaving the athlete to do a lap of the lake's length as she wished. It took a little longer than expected, but eventually she completed the lap.

"Man, that water feels nice…" Kagura mused, walking up the gradual slope to shore. It took only a second to realize no one had answered. Kagura quickly shook her head, then brushed the hair out of her eyes… and froze.

There she was standing in the shallow water completely naked, while on the shore her friends – fully clothed – had been surrounded by a large number of dark-skinned female warriors of unknown origin. They all brandished exotic looking weapons – polearms, scimitars, and several bows as well. And they didn't look happy. _It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't the only one naked_, Kagura thought.

"Hey! What the hell is going on here?!" she demanded, storming up the beach. _I must look ridiculous._ "Well? Anyone gonna answer?" The dark skinned women – all of whom were wearing not armor but thin silk fabric over top of dark red bikini-like outfits (likely due to the heat) – turned to face Kagura. By the look of their weapons, it made sense why they wore no armor – their fighting styles probably relied on agility and flexibility – both of which were qualities not found in suits of armor.

Coming to a stop, Kagura gave them a collective glare. About half of the original two dozen moved to surround her, making her feel even more uneasy over being unclothed. They stared at her from behind purple transparent veils, and then responded in a completely unexpected manner.

They all dropped won to one knee, and bowed deeply.

After a moment like this, one of them arose and finally addressed a stunned Kagura. "Our sincerest apologies, Chieftain. We did not realize you were here as well." The woman gestured to the others – Sakaki, and the group. Yet, she made sure not to meet Kagura's eyes, not just yet. "They are with you?"

Kagura was still finding it hard to speak. At least these women had the decency to avert their eyes – though why was a different reason than she suspected. In fact, they hadn't yet made eye contact with her either – not even when she first showed up, now that she thought about it. "Uh… yeah, they're with me," Kagura replied. After a moment, the weapons aimed at her friends were slowly lowered. "Can I... get dressed?"

"Of course, Chieftain!" _There was that word again._ At that queue, the female warriors – all of them – did an about face, and stood stock still facing away from Kagura. Casting a confused look to her friends, she tried to ask them what she should do using hand signals. Unfortunately, they were equally confused. Chiyo suggested she get dressed, Minamo seemed to think she should just roll with it, and Tomo... Tomo seemed to be trying to tell her to steal third base, or try to raise her magic power… or something.

Shrugging, Kagura quickly grabbed her clothes and dressed herself. She wore only what she had worn for the length of their trip in the desert, then slipped an arm through the straps of her shield and sheathed sword. Wearing it like a backpack, she cleared her throat to grab the warriors' attention. "Who sent you?" she asked, in a commanding tone.

"Master Garruk did, Chieftain. He was worried for your safety," the leader of the warriors replied.

"Take us home then. I wish to speak with him."

"Right away, lady Nia'ra." The woman made a series of hand signals to the other warriors, who hen grouped themselves into an escort formation behind the leader, and ahead of Kagura and her friends. Three of the warriors trailed behind. As they started walking, Minamo caught up with Kagura.

"So what's this all about?" she asked, at a whisper. "What happened to all the hostility?"

"They think I'm their Chieftain… I think… The one called me 'Lady Nia'ra' too." Kagura shrugged, and kept her voice low as well.

"That's very strange… Whatever the case, it's working out so far. But be careful, Kagura; I doubt those weapons are just for show."

"Yeah. Keep your guard up." Kagura would do just that as well. But by the look of their escorts, she doubted any of them would be able to do much if they _did_ turn hostile.

* * *

"That's a big place…" Osaka mused, as their destination came into view. The group had been travelling for several hours, and in that time, Kagura's Honor Guard had proven to be quite amiable once they warmed up to the girls. Kagura herself remained as silent as possible, speaking only when needed lest she say something that betrayed her.

"That," the leader of the Guard said, pointing ahead. "Is the Sal Kar Fortress, known as Kel'dor, in our tongue." The desert women (and Kagura, for the time being, as Nia'ra) were the Sal Kar, a tribe now native to the desert. Thousands of years ago, a group of humans from the land of Archaea became lost during a sandstorm. With no knowledge of the land, they were forced to settle down and adapt to life in the desert. Over time, they became known as the Sal Kar, and began changing physically to match the climate. Their skin became darker, more resistant to the heat, and a higher percentage of the population became magicians. They even developed their own language, though they remained fluent in the language of the Resistance – the language of their original homeland.

One other unique quality about the Sal Kar, as was revealed late in the discussion, was that it was an almost all-female race. There were very few males, most of which lived in Kel'dor, or a nomadic life in the desert. Those that remained within the tribe were often treated to high positions of power… as well as many wives (though the Sal Kar did not marry, so technically they were considered mates rather than wives). However, the highest position – that of Chieftain – was always reserved for a woman.

"This is an uncommon occurrence," one of the guards noted. "No outsider has seen the inside of our walls for over a decade…"

"You are friends of the Chieftain, so an exception can be made," the leader replied. This was also the reason the girls were treated to all the information about the Sal Kar – because they were apparently friends of Nia'ra, the Chieftain. Kagura let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the ruse still seemed to be working.

Finally, the group came to a stop. Before them lay the fortress of Kel'dor, a massive walled city made entirely of sandstone – not of the sedimentary variety, but stone forged from sand, much like in the Middle Eastern areas of the world they once called home. The walls were easily thirty feet tall, and concealed the entire city within. The only thing visible beyond the walls was the peak of a steep cliff, which the fortress was built into. The cliff came to a peninsula of sorts, and that point was where the fortress was built. This was because at the apex of the cliff, it rose up into a daunting mountain, preventing any army from assaulting the fortress from the cliffs above.

"Look… up on the walls…" Yomi said, pointing where she meant. Standing atop the thirty foot walls were archers…. Dozens, and probably hundreds of them, all female.

"Do not worry," the leader of the Guard assured them. "They are merely curious. It is not a common occurrence to have visitors." Kagura nodded. It made sense that with walls like that, it would be stupid not to have archers posted.

"Hold position here," the leader announced, halting their progress about twenty feet from the large wooden gates. Thankfully, the woman also answered the question Kagura had considered asking. "The doors are quite large," she explained. "We must give them room to open."

With a deep groan, followed by a low rumble, the massive wooden doors began to slowly swing outwards. As the crack between them grew larger, it was clear that there was someone waiting on the far side for them. As the doors reached their widest point, that person walked out to meet the group. Stepping out of the large shadow the gates and wall created, the woman revealed herself.

It was Kagura.

"Thought you could impersonate me, did you?" she said, with a devilish grin. "Good try. Got the face right an' everything. Guards, toss them in the dungeon."

* * *

**Author's notes:** Wow, a new chapter? Yes, that's right. I'm not dead yet. I won't go into detail at all, but I've had a lot of things going on over the last few months.

However, now I have a laptop, and thus, the ability to write anywhere I want. I refuse to leave my stories unfinished, so that will be my first goal – to finish all unfinished ones.

Re-uploaded, fixed some errors.


End file.
